Second Chances: Where's the Team Spirit?
by Ronnie Rude
Summary: Unlike Team Tokyo, one team in particular lacks the spirit and/or will to The lines between right and wrong are blurred when a second chance at life is It doesn't come without a The game has changed; the target can literally be anyone or "This is bullcrap Gantz!" He shouts, fist connecting with the large black "Gantz is just screwing with us!"
1. Prologue: You're the villain, not me!

**A/N: **Ronnie Rude, here! A couple of people are probably going to be pissed at me. I did a complete rewrite of this story. I just wasn't satisfied where it was headed, and the more I wrote the more I wanted to go back and fix the beginning. So here we are, back to the beginning...and a lot has changed. Sorry if I confused anyone!

**How did this all get started?**

I took a long extended break from writing fanfiction and focused on Moderating and Administrating a Gantz Roleplay Forum for 5 long years! There I modded some great roleplays that really appealed to a lot of members. I soon realized that I might have a knack for writing. So I decided to put on my Writing Fedora and focus on an interesting challenge. The challenge is to use the plot and some of the characters from our roleplays and use it to write a Gantz story with just Original Characters. I've spent months outlining plot and characters. I'm pretty confident I can pull this off without the Canon Characters and still keep the occasional reader interested. Even if you aren't a Gantz Anime/Manga fan, feel free to read on, because I plan to provide a little of this and a little of that - hopefully providing a story that all readers can enjoy.

Read and review, and please **BE HONEST**.

Criticism is **ALWAYS** welcome.

I really want to know what you guys think!

**Extended Synopsis: **She knew her brother kept a lot of secrets; it was his way of always protecting her. However, she'd soon find out that this was the understatement of the century. Very few knew the circumstances behind his death, and her obsession with finding the truth, may very well lead to one of universe's most darkest secrets. Aliens do exist, and her and her team would fight to remedy that. At least that was the theory anyways.

* * *

><p><strong>Second Chances<strong>

**"Where's the Team Spirit?"**

**Prologue**

_"You're the villain, not me!"_

* * *

><p>The car stops and he places a hand on her shoulder. She turns to face him, brushing a strand of blonde hair from her blue eyes. He holds his gaze on her; concern evident. Her eyes meet his. She knows this look; she hates it. She's no rookie and she prefers to not have him treat her as one.<p>

"For pity's sake, Eugene, I've seen a damn corpse before!"

Eugene, adjusts his glasses, and smiles. "You're not like our old lieutenant. I figured ya for the squeamish type, but low and behold I stand corrected." He removes his hand from her shoulder, and takes the key out of the ignition. "I for one hate the smell of dead people," He grimaces as he exits the vehicle, and turns to face her as she follows suit. "It makes me sick."

She shakes her head, "Look who's squeamish, Detective." She shuts the car door and eyes the scene. "I prefer to be out on the field," she says, putting on a pair of white gloves. "I'm very hands on."

"Yeah, I'm sure the corpse won't mind." He responds.

"We shouldn't spend too much time here, considering we still need to look into that mansion."

"You're probably right, but I'm pretty sure the corpses won't mind if we run a tad bit late."

They reach an alley with yellow tape blocking their path. Two officers approach them and remove their hats. One is a little queasy while the other is nervous. "L-Lieutenant Ha-Harper, D-Detective Neville," his hand jittering as he gestures into the alley behind him, "You'll want t-to f-follow me."

Lieutenant Harper and Detective Neville follow him into the alley. Upon approaching the scene, Neville's nose wrinkles; the smell of burnt flesh is horrible. It's so overpowering, in fact, he turns and behind him the other officer is nowhere to be found. "Well at least I'm not THAT squeamish. Poor bastard is probably puking his guts out." He says, just above a whisper.

Lieutenant Harper ignores the comment and focuses on the crime scene. Just ahead a coroner is examining a man lying charred to a crisp, his hand outstretched as if reaching out to the sun shining above him. She swallows hard and clears her throat, "Have we gotten an I.D. on the body, yet?" she asks.

"N-no we thought it was best to not disturb the scene, Ma'am."

"No witnesses?"

"N-none, other than a couple of locals waking up at 4:45 p.m. A few claim to have heard the sound of gunshots and a black car fleeing the scene." The officer answers, his eyes avoiding Lieutenant Harper's. "I-I have already set the expectation that they may receive further questioning."

"What is your name officer?"

"Caden," he clears his throat, "Officer Caden Sinclair."

She nods briefly, looking him over despite his discomfort. "Officer Sinclair, I get the feeling there is something you're not telling me," she begins, closing the distance between them, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "Why is that?"

Officer Sinclair, rubs his nose, "I-I really do like what you've done with your hair Lieutenant, i-it suits you," he says, his cheeks turning slightly red.

Lieutenant Harper blinks and Detective Neville snorts, and snickers behind her. A moment passes and Officer Sinclair excuses himself as the coroner, stands to greet them. He nods to them both before speaking, "Detective Neville, Lieutenant…My Lieutenant, you're looking abnormally red this morning." He adjusts his glasses. "Are you feeling alright?"

Detective Neville snorts, once again.

Lieutenant Harper glares at Detective Neville, "I'm fine, Doctor Jensen." She nods toward the body. "Do we have a cause of death?" She asks.

Doctor Jensen takes off his glasses and proceeds to wipe them with his handkerchief. "One would assume that multiple gunshot wounds to the victim's sternum would have certainly caused the victim to bleed to death," he begins, leading them to the body, "There is also a large puncture wound in the abdomen where a very sharp and long blade was used."

Lieutenant Harper arches, an eyebrow, "But?"

"But, the victim was obviously aware that he was on fire." He says, putting his glasses back on. "One can only assume that the victim was stabbed, set on fire and then shot multiple times."

"Jesus," Neville curses. He sniffs and frowns, almost immediately. He looks at Harper. "Do you smell that?"

She sniffs the air, "No, there's no indication a chemical was used."

"How was the victim set on fire, again?" Neville asks, taking out a notebook book and pen.

Doctor Jensen smirks, involuntarily. "Very good, Detective. Unfortunately that's a question that even I can't answer at this time."

Neville looks up from jotting down his notes, "What is the approximate time of the victim's time of death?" he asks.

"It's difficult to say really, considering the body's condition," he begins, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But, I would have to say within the timeframe of 4 o' clock and 5 o' clock a.m." Neville nods and Doctor Jensen looks at his watch. "I will leave you two to it then, if you'll excuse me."

Detective Neville looks on as Lieutenant Harper kneels beside the corpse. He is lost in thought as he reflects on the information thus far. "Makes you wonder just what the hell happened to this poor bastard." He whispers.

* * *

><p>For Miles Kramer, it was strange, really. Everything was going according to plan. However, death, at least to him was never known to follow a plan of any sort. If you somehow live to tell the tale, you earn the right to gloat or to be thankful. Considering, unlike the rest, you are the one that cheated death; be it fate or dumb luck, you are still here.<p>

He recalls each breath of air being exhilarating, and the next drink of water being that much more refreshing. It takes some getting used to, but you notice things, things that you once hadn't, and cherish loved ones more than ever before. You live for the moment, because when the stakes were high with your life on the line, the gamble was in your favor. He as well as the others accompanying him are of a select few, chosen to receive this reward. They've been given another chance - a second chance.

Miles Kramer scoffs, crosses his arms and sits down. Quite frankly, he hates this part of the mission. It's the part of the mission where realization sets in and newbs, as he likes to call them, finally arrive at the shocking conclusion that – yes, we're dead. He always finds it entertaining to watch them hypothesize on what may or may not be the reason why they are in a subway train, one they cannot escape, going god knows where – oh and there's a large black ball in the back of the train car. Just as soon as he thinks there are no longer any more reasonable explanations for this, a newb thinks of another, and their creativity truly amazes him.

That however, is not the case anymore, considering someone always thinks it's best to spill the beans, ruining all his fun. Miles hates it when people ruin the fun part, and begins to think that his friend, no, acquaintance, yes, acquaintance, Johnny Kudo does this just to spite him. His delusional acquaintance has this crazy idea that he is a superhero, and Miles is a villain. Miles may have robbed a casino, and a bank or two, but he didn't consider himself to be a villain at all.

When someone takes a dump in your cornflakes, and you punch them in the face for doing it, it doesn't make you a bad person, it's just you getting even. Even as much as people claim, two wrongs don't make a right, it doesn't feel right until you make it right, and Miles made it right. It's simple, but Johnny Kudo always fails to see things from his perspective, resulting in the two frequently bumping heads as of late.

Miles makes a fist, and whistles, considerably impressed. "Awesome." He whispers.

The black glove on his hand is out of the ordinary. On it there are a series of white, circular nodes, 4 in total, wrapping around the wrist. As his fist clenches and unclenches he can feel the nodes pumping fluid into the glove, making the small task effortless. He resists the urge to punch something, already knowing the result; he feels so indestructible.

"Maybe I should punch, Kudo?" He thinks to himself, and smiles at the thought of his fist connecting with his jaw. He dismisses the thought soon after,"He'd probably cry. I hate it when he cries."

"Miles!"

"What, Kudo?"

Johnny smirks, and makes a fist of his own, "Tell them about the suit, and how important it is to wear it."

"No."

Johnny frowns, lowering his fist and faces the three other passengers on the train. "Don't mind him; he's always like this before a mission." He says, and a smile once again graces his features. "Stick with me and you'll be safe."

"Wait a minute; don't I know you from somewhere?" A male passenger asks.

"Yes, he does look vaguely familiar now that you mention it," says a female.

Johnny Kudo's grin widens as he reaches in his coat pocket and retrieves an assortment of cloth. "You could say I do have somewhat of reputation." He says rather smugly.

"Not you, him."

Johnny turns and Miles sighs, "Here it comes."

"You're that guy the police are looking for!" The male passenger shouts, looking back at the female passenger. She nods back as he continues, "You robbed those banks!"

"I did."

"And that casino!"

"I did."

"You're a wanted criminal!"

"So they say," Miles states, smiling despite himself. "Do you want an autograph?"

"Um, does this make us hostages?" The female passenger asks him.

Johnny Kudo turns away. In his hand he holds a yellow, white and purple luchador mask. He drops it and sighs dejectedly. He was foolish to think anyone would recognize a hero without his mask.

"Excuse me, mister!" A little girl passenger calls out to him and tugs on his pants leg.

He looks down and a little girl with a missing front tooth smiles back up at him, because in her hand she holds his mask. "You dropped this?"

"Um, thanks."

She nods, and hands it to him. And with a finger to her lips, she shushes him, "I know your secret, Mister, you're Muscle Rider!"

Johnny winks at her and runs a hand through her hair, smiling, only to have that smile fade as a strange, but familiar song plays throughout the speakers of the train car. The mission would start soon and this game they'd be playing was not meant for children.

"This is bullcrap, Gantz!" Miles Kramer shouts, his fist connecting with the screen on the large black ball. "Give us the real target, and stop screwing with us!"

The picture of a girl with long brown hair disappears and reappears once again. Below her picture are several lines of text. The text doesn't require much deciphering and reads clearly as, "I want you to find and kill this Nikki Alien."

"Jesus, Miles." Johnny whispers, not really knowing what else to say. "Why is she the target?"

Miles turns, facing him with tears running down his freckled cheeks. "She is **NOT**, the target!" He shouts, before adding, "Gantz is just screwing with us."

"What did she do, Miles?"

"She didn't do anything!" He shouts once again, running his hands through his red, unruly hair. "She's **NOT** the target!"

"Miles calm down, man." Johnny states, placing a hand on his shoulder, "We just need a second to get our bearings." He laughs, "Gantz doesn't send us to kill people. We kill aliens. Maybe it's just one that looks like her."

"You'd take that chance?" Miles asks him. "You're really thinking about going through with this aren't you?"

"That's not it at all!"

Miles' eyes go wide as he considers the possibility of Kudo actually killing Nikki –his Nikki. He couldn't trust him; he couldn't trust any of them. They'd kill her, and wouldn't think twice about it because they all think it isn't real. They think it's a game. He couldn't allow the game to end in such a way. He wouldn't let Nikki be killed.

He turns and points at the other passengers, his voice that of venom, cursing them. "If any of you come near her, **I'll kill you! I swear to god I'll kill you!**"

The little girl begins to cry and Johnny kneels to console her. He shakes his head. "Miles, you're upset and not thinking straight!" He shouts.

"Kudo, I'd kill you too. You'd be a fool to think otherwise." Miles whispers, turning to face the Black Ball, referred to as Gantz.

He'd have to be smarter than the others, smarter than Kudo. He'd have to disadvantage them someway, somehow, but how? He smirks, as the ball opens, and several compartments containing various forms of equipment on the shelves are now visible for all to see. He reaches inside, cursing the mannequin of a little girl inside. A chill runs up his spine as she morphs into a malnourished little girl, attached to a breathing apparatus.

Her eyes open and she whispers, _"Don't do this."_

He figures he is seeing things. He ignores her and finds what he is looking for –controllers. They allowed the user to see where the mission targets and allies were at all times. 6 controllers in total and he would destroy all of them. Quickly, he grabs two at a time, one in each hand, squeezing and crushing the PDA devices, to nothing more than crumpled scrap metal.

A hand falls on his shoulder, "Miles, what are you doing?"

"Get your hands off me, Kudo!" Miles turns and pushes Johnny Kudo away. He laughs, as tears continue to fall from his eyes. "I'm playing the game, you idiot." He whispers, crushing the last and final controller. He stands, drying his eyes on his sleeve. "Send me out first, Gantz!"

Miles closes his eyes and reopens them. Another chill runs up his spine. Gantz didn't seem to mind sending him out first. The damn ball was mocking him, baiting him, considering he was now right outside of Nikki's household, an extravagant Victorian mansion, a reminder that; this is real- Gantz does want Nikki dead!

He felt his body move on its own, up the stone steps and arriving at the large oak door. He takes a moment to breathe, realizing that it's very hard to do so when his heart is racing as much as it was right now. He considers knocking, but knows he has little time for such pleasantries.

_No time, Nikki's life is at stake!_

He kicks down the door and raises his gun; it is oddly shaped like an X. He frowns. The house is quiet, too quiet. Any normal family would have made a sound or noise at the sound of their front door being kicked in. He looks down at his controller's PDA screen. The others, his allies, were green dots about a block away, and he could see a red dot; he figures that had to be Nikki. Her dot wasn't moving, so he assumed she was hiding.

_Smart girl._

He enters the house and uses a scoped screen on the back of his X-gun, a name he came up with for simplicity sake, as a means to navigate the halls of the mansion. The uses of this gun were endless considering the user could toggle between night, thermal and X-ray vision.

Eventually he arrives at his destination, and on the other side of this door he'd find Nikki, and he'd explain everything to her.

_No more lies._

"Nikki, it's me." He calls out. "It's Miles!" He reaches for door knob.

"**Stay away from me!**" He hears her cry, followed by sobs.

_Why was she crying?_

"I'm coming in, it's just me." He reassures her, opening the door.

Inside, a shadow of a figure runs to the right of the room. He turns on the light switch and his eyes widen. The library is a mess, but there isn't just books lying about. There's so much blood and Miles searches frantically for the source. Thankfully the blood didn't belong to Nikki; however his face becomes pale upon realizing the blood had belonged to Nikki's parents.

"Jesus Nikki, what the hell happened in here?" Miles asks, covering his mouth, and turning to face her. He sees that she too is covered in blood, her parent's blood. He swallows, feeling a lump in his throat. "Nikki, you didn't."

"I did, I was **so** hungry, Miles." She cries, hugging her knees to her chest. "I'm a monster!"

Miles shakes his head and runs to her side, kneeling beside her and taking her into his arms. "Shut up, Nikki. Just shut up."

"You have to kill me Miles or I don't know what I might do!"

Miles rests his forehead on hers, and caresses her blood stained cheeks. "**NO.**" He shakes his head as tears begin to falls from his eyes as well. "There has to be a cure. We can fix this, and make it all better!"

Nikki shakes her head. She sniffs the air, and lashes out at Miles, burrowing her face into his neck. Her fangs latch onto to the nape of his neck and draw blood. His blood tastes hot and sweet, almost like nectar and nothing like her parents blood.

_Strange._

_Why did he hug her as she continued to suck, why didn't he struggle? _

_Didn't he know he too would soon die by her hands?_

She pushes him away and he falls back, wincing. He clutches his neck, attempting to prevent more blood from escaping the wound. He couldn't believe she bit him, and he stares up at her in disbelief. "Why?" he asks her.

"Miles, I couldn't control myself!" She shouts, licking her lips. "I told you to stay away!"

Miles chuckles, despite the pain in his neck. "Well that settles it then. We're in this together." He whispers, falling limp.

Nikki's eyes widen as he passes out and immediately runs to his side. She places her head on his chest and still hears a heartbeat. She sighs in relief, cursing herself for biting him and cursing him for accepting her despite becoming a freak.

She sighs again and scratches her shoulder, and it bubbles; it feels as if it were boiling on the inside. She looks down at it in confusion and her entire right arm is blown to bits. She screams in agony and slumps backward. She clutches the wound where her arm use to be and looks up to see 4 people have joined them; two men, a child and a woman. One of the men is wearing a mask and tight, black, spandex suit that matched that of the child's. The other two held guns.

"Did you see that? I hit her!" The man that shot her cried, obviously pleased with himself.

"Didn't I tell you not to shoot?" Johnny Kudo shouts, behind his mask. He looks around the room, seeing all the blood. He knew this type of scene too well. "Jesus, what the hell, is this? I thought we killed that freaking' clown!" he shouts.

* * *

><p><em>"What is this?"<em> Miles asks himself.

He feels as if he's dreaming, but this isn't a normal dream. He sees Johnny Kudo open the window to his apartment room, hop inside and and let out a sigh of relief. He is wearing a tight, black, spandex suit covered in white nodes; they called it a Gantz suit. While worn it increases your strength and speed and protects you from tremendous amounts of damage. Unfortunately, Kudo's suit is leaking a blue liquid, thus, signifying his suit is now useless- and that Kudo himself was a fool.

He rips off his ridiculous luchador mask, and gives a sigh of relief. "That was a close one, I could've died falling from that height." He looks down at his suit and sighs once again. "Damn, now I got to wait until the next mission to get a new one." He groans.

"Johnny, is that you?"

Oh, crap.

"Yeah mom," He replies, attempting to squeeze out of the slippery and sweaty suit.

She tries the door, and he thanks the maker that he remembered to lock it prior.

"Why's the door locked?"

"Why do you think the door is locked, mom?"

"Johnny, open this door, **right now**!"

Johnny Kudo does as he is told and greets his mother in nothing more than a towel. "Are you happy? Your son now stands before you naked!"

"Clean your room, Johnny, and stop locking this door. "

"Alright mom!" He shouts shutting the door.

He sighs, walking over toward the window. He looks outside and a rather large bum, dressed as a clown looks up at Johnny. He is pissed. The food he had just got done scavenging was now covered in Kudo's blue, suit goo, after Kudo had thrown the suit out of the window. Try as he might to wipe off the goo, it still remained. This however, did not stop the clown from finishing his meal – no matter how strange it tasted.

"That can't be good," Kudo whispers.

* * *

><p>Miles shakes his head of the thought, still enraged by the vision still fresh on his mind.<p>

"Kudo you idiot! You bastard!" He curses him. "This is your damn fault!"

He looks up and the sky is crying; tears pelting down with no remorse. Perhaps he is crying too. If so, he couldn't tell; he is soaked head to toe. Thoughts in his head are racing a mile a minute. He couldn't think straight. He couldn't even differentiate a tear from a rain drop. Maybe he should consider lying down for a moment. He feels so tired.

One misstep, a splash and he is lying face down in a puddle. "So c-cold."

The puddle gets redder by the minute, staining the ground with his precious life stream. Not far away, a bronze coin twirls on its side. The face side of the Sacagawea coin reveals itself, mocking his pain and suffering. "W-what are you s-smiling at?" He lunges for it, wincing at the effort it took to perform a simple task. He sighs, holding it in his grasp.

_Heads, you hide. Tails, we both hide._

His fist hits the puddle, splashing it repeatedly. "D-Damn it, Damn it!" He cries out, tossing the coin out into the alley. The blood stained coin echoes in the distance, disappearing into a sewer drain.

Panic sets in once again. Wet footsteps are heard in the distance. Something inside tells him to run, but he's tired of running. There hadn't been a point to it anymore. It was better just to lie still -he didn't plan on running anymore.

A black car enters the alley, and its high beams force Miles to shield his eyes from the bright light. He hears the clicking of a group of men's shoes as they approach him. One of them raises a hand, stopping the others and he continues down the alleyway by himself.

"Hey, buddy."

Miles turns over to face the man who had discovered him. The man almost sounds friendly, but after recognizing who it is he knew better than to trust this man. Even as the man in the pin-striped suit holds an umbrella over his soaking wet form, Miles doesn't thank him for the gesture.

"_Miles_." A chuckle escapes his lips. "You don't look so hot."

"G-go to hell."

The man smiles down at him, watching him clutching at his stomach, coughing up blood. "I'm sorry, I didn't get that." Leaning in close, he feigns interest. "Come again?"

Miles' answer is a thick wad of mucous and blood that barely misses the man. The man frowns at Miles and his trademark grin. He drops the umbrella and draws his pistol. The look on Miles' face disgusts him; the look of a man on the verge of death, with nothing more to lose, but a heck of a lot more to gain.

_He'd wipe that smile off his face, soon enough._

"I never liked saying I told you so, but you knew this would happen Miles…" The pistol gives a reassuring click, indicating the chamber was live and loaded. "You can't keep cheating death, boy…and I assume you knew this fairytale would one day end." With the pistol aimed at Miles' sternum, the man's smile fades. "However, it doesn't have to end this way." His shoes click off of the wet pavement as he circles around Miles, aiming and still poised to kill. "I can have an ambulance here within minutes, and all you have to do is cooperate – _understand?_"

"C-cooperate?"

"**YES**, I want it **ALL** back. Every stinking penny; it all belongs to me!"

"T-the money?" Miles snorts. "You'll never f-find it." It hurts to laugh, and even as blood escapes his lips, laughter ensues. "You'll keep searching, a-and searching, b-but you'll never find it. You'll **NEVER** find it!"

**BAM! BAM! BAM!**

The bullets hammer into Miles' chest, ceasing all laughter quite abruptly.

"You think you can make a fool out of me?" Another shot fires, and another right after. "Nobody makes a fool out of me!" He grabs and tugs at Miles by his red locks of hair, determined to literally catch him before leaving this world. "You listen to me when I'm talking to you -You little piece of crap!" He bellows, ignoring Miles' coughing and wheezing. "Until I get back what's mine…I'm going to do whatever it takes. Your family, your friends…**Dead**! You hear me? **Dead!"**

A fist connects with the man's face, and he stumbles backward, relinquishing his hold on Miles. Johnny Kudo cracks his knuckles and takes a fighting stance. He glares down at the man in the pinstriped suit, daring him to stand up for another knuckle sandwich.

The men lined behind the fallen man, draw their guns, but the man stops them from firing. He spits out a tooth and glares at his masked assailant. "We're leaving, **NOW!**" He shouts.

Johnny Kudo breathes a sigh of relief as the men load the man in the pinstriped suit into the vehicle. Not long after this the car immediately pulls out of the alley and out of sight. He could always pursue this man later, his biggest concern was Miles.

"K-Kudo, you **IDIOT**, y-you could have killed him!" Miles shouts, coughing up blood.

Johnny Kudo kneels beside him, checking his wounds. He wasn't going to make it if the mission didn't end soon. Ironically enough, he feels a familiar feeling in his head, signaling that they soon would be arriving back on the train with Gantz. The mission was a complete and utter, failure; Nikki was still out there somewhere.

"This is your entire fault, you idiot." Miles shouts at him. "All because you wanted to play hero! Y-You're no _hero_, you're a _villain_!"

Johnny Kudo turns unable to face him. "I'm sorry, Miles."

"Y-you're the villain, not me!"

"Jesus, Miles, I'm so sorry."

His apology is in vain. Miles can no longer hear him. With blood pouring profusely from his mouth, his freckled cheeks rise, baring a sharp toothy grin. He is in awe. Even as Kudo continues to address his bleeding wounds, his now red eyes remained focused on the sky. He didn't ever recall it being so beautiful before. It was no longer raining and the sun was peeking out from behind a cloud. It burns him, but he welcomes it. At first he had doubts, but this was how it was all supposed to end - _this was fate. _

* * *

><p>"Found something?"<p>

"I did."

"Let me have a look."

"It's an I.D on our friend here..."

Detective Neville hands her the driver's license. The card itself is slightly charred, but it's legible.

_"Miles Kramer,"_ Lieutenant Harper whispers.

"Hey!" She blinks, hearing Neville shout at her. "What's the matter with you - turning pale all of a sudden?" He grabs the I.D. card from her, eyeing it closely. He holds it out in front of her, pointing at the person it identified. "Fay, do you know this guy?" he asks her, addressing her by her first name.

"Know him?" She shakes her head. "I've been, the city has been trying to track this guy for months!"

"Him?" Neville tries not to laugh, "You mean _Mister Crispy _over here was **that **hard to find? Forgive me if I say I don't believe you."

"I was pulled from the case, promoted and transferred over to Homicide." A sigh escapes her lips. "I almost had him too."

"I guess justice has been served then, eh?" He responds, crossing his arms. "So, any next of kin?"


	2. Chapter 1: New York's finest, I presume?

**A/N: *knock*knock* **Ronnie Rude, here! As mentioned before, this is a complete rewrite. I wasn't satisfied where this story was heading before, but now I'm having a blast writing it! Can anyone tell? My goal is to continue to make these chapters not just long, but as fulfilling as possible. I'm not just a writer, but I'm also a reader. I hate it when you get these mouth-watering long chapters and then out of nowhere there's this short malnourished looking chapter. It's like...what the hell?! Did the author just poop this one out to keep us sedated? I refuse to do that to you guys! Wait...there **ARE** some of you guys left, right? Is anyone listening? Hello?

_**oh, and...**_

There is an Easter Egg in this chapter, **I swear! **

I'll give you a reward and an honorable mention next chapter if you find it and post it in your review.

HAPPY HUNTING!

Read and review, and please **BE HONEST**.

Criticism is **ALWAYS** welcome.

I really want to know what you guys think!

**Warning:** Do not read this chapter in one sitting...you will probably forget about life, food, or something...

_I know I did when writing it_... _(T_T)_

* * *

><p><strong>Second Chances<strong>

**"Where's the Team Spirit?"**

**Chapter 1**

_"New York's finest, I presume?"_

* * *

><p><strong>Gosh, he's huge!<strong>

A tower of a man leans over the table, glaring down at her. His sunglasses prevent the fire from being seen burning in his eyes. The forecast today is cloudy, yet this man is still wearing sunglasses. Whatever he was compensating for - the entire look - it worked; it definitely intimidated her.

What a nuisance! There had to be something else to look at. An attempt at this would be difficult, considering that this wall of a man blocked majority of everything else in clear view. It was possible to look to the left or right, but that'd give off the impression of being intimidated. And she would not grant him that satisfaction.

_Officer Nickolai Postavich._

According to his badge, this was his name. Not that it mattered much, because Officer Postavich was - an - asshole! A deep and utter loathing was felt for this man. And if you were never fond of cops, this one could take the prize; he was the nastiest you'd ever have the misfortune of meeting.

A loud bang interrupts her train of thought. "Where is it!" he erupts, punching the table once more. "Answer me!"

She shakes her head. "Look, I-I said I don't-"

Wham!

The folding chair goes airborne, going from one side of the room to the other. The metal clanking sound that reverberates off the wall eases the man's tension - for now. The small vein on the side of his forehead stops pulsing, and he runs his gloved palm through his gelled jet-black hair. Now sedated, he continues, "Once more. I'm going to ask you _once more_, and then I'm going to-"

"_Going to_- what?" She huffs, calling him bluff.

_This wasn't her first rodeo. She had been interrogated before._

"For Christ's sake girl!" A second voice booms in her ear, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Just tell em' where your brother hid the money!" He was now within earshot. "Be a _good girl_…" he suggests, each breath being just short of a whisper.

Her nose wrinkles, smelling bad breath and feeling small droplets of spit hit her cheek.

_She wipes her face and glares at his badge._

_Officer Viktor Von Grady._

She rolls her eyes.

"Look, I _**said**_ I don't know, even if I did, I wouldn't tell either of you ASSHOLES!"

"Ms. Kramer, let's not be difficult."

"My name is Kelly!"

"Okay, Kelly."He smiles, "Were all friends here, let's not be rude, _okay_?"

She shrugs off his hand.

She looks at the clock; it's 2:15 p.m.

She sighs, and prepares to deliver the ultimate insult.

"Pee-**yoo!** Your breath smells like death old man. Either you or something inside of you is croaking!"

Officer Viktor Von Grady takes a step back at this, feeling slightly offended. He crosses his arms, rather defensively. Kelly sticks her index finger in her mouth, pretending to gag. "Cute. Real cute." He scoffs.

She stops gagging, and rewards him with a mischievous smirk, "Flattery will get you nowhere. I know my rights, and I want a lawyer!" She pauses, almost as if lost in thought. "I'm not talking unless I'm talking to Fay!"

Wham!

The small table holds little resistance in Officer Postavich's war path - it too flies airborne. "Enough of this crap!" He reaches for his pistol. "You little bitch! I'm going to-"

Kelly's eyes widen.

He wasn't going to shoot, was he? How the hell did her day become such a drag? Kelly did everything her parents told her. She was a good little teenager. Unlike her moron of a brother, she always obeyed the law. She didn't jaywalk. Hell, she didn't even litter. Everyone littered, but not Kelly Kramer!

So why was she here? She knew why. This wasn't the first time that she had been brought into questioning by these pigs. They brought her here, because of Miles. They were after her brother, and they were too incompetent to find him on their own.

She couldn't believe she had to sit through another interrogation!

* * *

><p>Kelly Kramer opens her locker and checks her watch; it reads back as 12:00 p.m. She smiles, hearing the bell school bell chime. "I love early dismissals!" She thinks to herself, doing everything in her power to restrain herself from fist pumping the air, considering she did have reputation to uphold.<p>

Inside her locker she eyes the object of her affection, sighing dreamily at the poster of the handsome male celebrity that greets her. "Matthew Siwon, I would gladly dump my boyfriend like a ton of bricks and have your children!" She whispers, drawing a circle on the man's exposed chest.

She hears a couple of giggles, and she turns to greet her peers.

"See you at cheer practice Ke-Ke!"

Kelly turns red and waves at her fellow cheer squad members "Wouldn't miss it!" She shouts back.

And just like that, she feels as if her reputation is shattered.

As if Miles, hadn't ruined it enough, now people knew she worshipped a shrine in her locker.

She sighs, closing her locker, and her boyfriend greets her, "**YO!**"

"Holy crap, Ethan!" She screams, frowning at him. "You scared the pom-poms, out of me!" She brings a hand to her chest, exhaling. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Maybe." He chuckles, grabbing her by the hair and giving her a long kiss. "You're such a babe, babe."

"And you're such a perv'!" She states, punching him in the chest. Her smile fades, and she frowns, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to be jealous, babe." He laughs. "And would you look at that!" He shouts, looking past her.

Kelly turns to see someone attempting to approach them, but looks as if he is debating whether or not he should. She doesn't recognize him and looks at Ethan as if confused.

"What a total geek." Ethan groans. "Later, babe!" He calls out to her before running toward the geek.

Kelly shakes her head, not understanding the joy Ethan Wyatt got out of torturing the school nerds. Behind her she could hear laughter as Ethan shouts, "Hey Johnny, what are you doing out of your trash can?"

Something then catches her interest; it's a little girl. The girl is wearing a white dress and bonnet. She bounces a red ball, weaving through the students; they're oblivious to her presence.

_Who was she?_

_Where did she come from?_

The girl turns the corner; stopping just to smile at her, "Come and play with me!" she beckons.

Kelly rubs her eyes, assuming she'd been seeing things. She makes her way over only to see that the little girl is no longer there.

She laughs inwardly, "She was never there!" she thinks to herself.

Kelly checks her watch and groans. She didn't have time for this. If she didn't hurry she would be late for practice. She looks once again in the direction that she last saw the apparition, and then turns to head in the opposite direction toward the football field.

On the football field she is greeted by her team, each of them anxious to be the first to speak with her. She sometimes has to remind them of their pecking order, or at least that she could only listen to but so many of them at one time.

The team starts off simple; a few tosses, allowing her to show off a little as they toss her into the air. She closes her eyes and back flips into a corkscrew, and falls into her peers' open hands. They catch her, but she notices that the left side almost drops her due to picking up the slack for the right side.

Kelly opens her eyes, frowning, "What the hell girls, you could have almost killed me!" she shouts, struggling to get from out their hands and back on her own two feet. "Who's the weak link, on the squad?" she asks.

"E-Emily fell and skinned her knee before you got here." One of the girls replies; pointing in Emily's direction, "We've been picking up her slack ever since."

Kelly looks at Emily in annoyance, "Seriously?" she asks. "We've got a game next week, and you're crying over a…" She trails off, looking down at her nail. "Ow." She whispers instinctively.

"Oh my god, Ke-Ke, like just broke a nail!" A girl screams, placing her hands on her cheeks in epic, exaggerated fashion.

"Let's take a powder break, girls." Kelly suggests, allowing the girls to crowd around her to see the damage done to her nail.

They lead her over to the bleachers, where they proceed to pamper her. One files the broken nail, while the other tends to her hair, and another engages her in conversation. She sighs, only tensing as the brush reaches a thread of hair that requires more brushing and combing.

"That damn, Ethan Wyatt." Shouts one of the girls; cursing as she tends to Kelly's hair. "Why do you let him do this to your hair Ke-Ke?" she demands. "I'll kill him!"

Kelly chuckles, "He's a jerk, but he's not so bad, ya know?" she states, sighing, dreamily.

"Aww, Ke-Ke's in love!"

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Okay, okay! Maybe just a little…"

The girls erupt into fits of giggles and laughter, not noticing or aiding Emily who tries her best to make her way to the infirmary. She's confident that she can make it if she doesn't stand too long on it as she gingerly makes her way across the field.

Before she can get too far, two cops approach and she swallows a large lump in her throat. "C-can I help you?" she asks them.

Nickolai Postavich tosses his cigarette to the side, and breathes out the smoke. "You hear that Viktor," He tilts his head to face his comrade, "she wants to know if she can help us!"

"She's real thoughtful, eh?" Officer Viktor Von Grady responds, crossing his arms and chuckling.

"Yeah, real thoughtful." Nickolai agrees, smoothing back his gelled jet black hair. "Yeah, you can help us." He states, smiling behind his black shades.

Emily looks in the sky, and sees the sun is well hidden by the clouds.

_Why was this man wearing sunglasses?_

"You wouldn't happen to know a Kelly Kramer, now would you?" Nickolai asks her.

"Red hair, freckles, sort of resembles the ginger on the Wendy's sign." Viktor adds in, spitting what looked like liquid tar on the field.

She grimaces, and points back at the group of girls laughing behind her. "She's over there, right in the middle." She states.

"You have our thanks little lady," Viktor states, uncrossing his arms. He points away from the field, "Now hobble along and ice your boo-boo like a good little girl." He instructs.

Emily nods, wanting nothing more than to get away from the two men. Quite frankly, they scared the hell out of her. This doesn't stop her from smiling to herself. She silently hopes, they take Kelly Kramer away for good this time.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Kramer." Officer Viktor greets Kelly Kramer, causing her to look in his direction, frowning.

_She remembered the sound of his voice; he was flattered._

"We'd like to have a word with you, back at the station." Officer Nickolai adds, and pops his neck.

Kelly's friends immediately step to the side, faces pale, and stricken with fear. All of them were traitors, and would sell her out the first chance they got. She didn't know why she even expects at least one of them to stand up for her.

_At least her hair looked nice._

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Kelly states, sighing as she follows the two officers, pom-poms and all.

* * *

><p>The door to the interrogation room swings open. A blonde haired woman walks in. "Nico! Victor!" She shakes her head. "What the hell are you two doing?"<p>

Viktor shoots Nico a look, and Nico regrettably relinquishes hold of his gun, going for the smokes in his back pocket. "This is why I don't work with brats!" Nico sighs and the filter of the cigarette enters his mouth. "They can be so troublesome."

"Stand down!" she orders. "Both of you!"

"Uh, H-Harp-p-per?" comes Viktors's defense.

"That's Lieutenant Fay Harper to _you_." The click of her heels echoes. She approaches Viktor, her eyes sizing him up. "Enlighten me, _Viktor_, on what protocol encourages our precinct to show off our firearms during an interrogation."

"N-none, Sir!"

"Then why is it that you and your partner think it's okay to conduct _Show and Tell_with the witness?"

Viktor opens his mouth to speak, but he says nothing.

"I ask you to do one simple thing; bring her to the station, nothing else!" She massages her temples. "Why are you even interrogating her? Why can't you two ever follow protocol?"

Nico Postavich takes a long drag of his cigarette, exhaling sharply. "Screw protocol."

Lieutenant Harper frowns, seeing Kelly cough from the smoke. "I want you both out of my sight!"

The two officers take their leave, and on their way out, Niko pops his neck. "The hell with this good cop, bad cop garbage…Next time we do things my way!" He states.

Lieutenant Fay Harper watches the door close, and a sigh escapes her. The room is a mess, but she would easily remedy this. With the table, right side up and in hand, she lets it drag and feels eyes watching her every move.

"You'll have to excuse them."

Kelly arches her brow. "New York's finest, I presume?"

"We certainly try to be; unfortunately I can't speak that highly about some of us." She sighs, "We pride ourselves in keeping this city safe."

"Well, I certainlydon't feel safe."

The metal folding chair opens and hits the floor with a clank. With everything back in its proper place, Fay takes a seat across from Kelly. Kelly crosses her arms, looking as if she were ready to leave at any given moment.

"Understandable." Fay nods, leaning in with her elbows on the table. "I wouldn't expect much else from anyone in your current predicament."

She looks at Kelly, unable to hide the remorse depicted in her eyes.

"What is my current predicament, exactly?"

Fay frowns. "You mean you don't know?"

What the hell kind of interrogation were Niko and Viktor conducting?

Kelly shakes her head in bewilderment, Fay leans back from the table, her legs re-crossing, and positioning the right leg over the left leg. She looks unsure of where to begin, and glances down at the pom-poms next to Kelly's feet.

_This definitely wasn't one of the perks to the job._

"Thirsty?"

"You people actually offer refreshments to your captives?" Kelly jokes, only to sigh and allow her head to hit the table."Dehydrated to be honest."

"Water? Coffee…Soda?"

Kelly turns her head so she can see Fay once again. "I'll have the water." She responds.

A silent nod comes from the Lieutenant and she takes her leave. As soon as the door to the Interrogation Room closes, Fay's back leans against it. She lets out a long sigh, enjoying the sensation of her hand rubbing her throbbing temple. The relief was satisfying, but it didn't last.

"For pity's sake, someone get me a coffee!"

An officer walking past her stops abruptly. "You feelin' alright L-Lieutenant?" He asks her, and the concern is evident in his voice.

"I feel like crap," she admits, removing her hand from her head. "But thanks for your concern."

A dazzling smile graces his features.

"You're…C-Caden, right?" She regains her composure and pushes herself off the door.

"Ah, you remembered!"

_How could she forget?_

"S-So, um, how's about that coffee?" Officer Caden asks, breaking the awkward silence.

"C-Coffee?" She asks, almost as if for getting what "Coffee" even was.

_Him and that damn smile!_

_Why did he always have to smile?_

"L-Let me guess." His brow arches slightly. "Extra cream…s-sugar?"

"_Gee_. That sounds…_splendid?_"

No pun, intended.

In response, Caden wouldn't stop grinning, and to her it was beginning to become unbearable.

"A-Anything else?"

Regaining her composure, she frowns in thought. There was something else, wasn't there?

"Water," she adds. "You know…for the witness."

He nods, but he's still not satisfied. "_A-Anything else?_"

"J-JUST GO!"

Her sudden outburst forces the man to laugh. He could get use to pushing her buttons.

"Alright, alright, I'm going!" He responds, waving as he goes off to fetch the refreshments.

Her gaze lingers, mesmerized as she watches his retreating form. This lasts until he's out of sight. She proceeds to open the door next to Interrogation. Inside this room, two Detectives, male and female, turn and stand to greet her.

"Lieutenant!" They state, greeting her in unison.

"At ease Detectives." She nods toward them, crossing her arms. "Neville, Kinsley, I trust you've both finished compiling the reports on both cases as I requested?"

Detective Kinsley points at two manila folders on the table; they're packed thick with documents. "I'm still working on the one for the Niito mansion, but we finished Miles Kramer's just in time to see you and…" She places a hand over her mouth, looking at Detective Neville.

"Lieutenant, you're looking abnormally red this morning," Detective Neville states boldly, crossing his arms, mimicking her and waiting for an explanation.

Fay's eyes fall on Detective Kinsley. The poor girl does everything in her power to avoid her accusing eyes. It's obvious. _She knew._She groans, running her hand through her short blonde hair. Earlier it was Doctor Jensen, and now it's Neville AND Kinsley. The last thing she needs is more teasing. The entire Precinct was out to drive her insane.

"They don't pay you to interrogate me, Detective Neville."

"I know, it's a perk," he admits. "A damn good one."

"What is this high school?" Fay demands, turning toward Detective Kinsley. "Has everyone in the Precinct got nothing better to do?"

"It wasn't my idea to pry, really!" Detective Kinsley admits.

Normally, Fay would respond, but she focuses her attention elsewhere.

The two sided mirror separating the room they were in from Interrogation, squeaks loudly. Kelly on the other side is scribbling on the glass with her index finger.

"What's she doing?" Detective Kinsley approaches the glass, touching it. "Looks like she's writing some type of message - a code of some sort, maybe?"

The squeaking stops abruptly and Kelly cups her hands around her mouth. It was intriguing, watching her lean in, inhaling and breathing out her hot breath on the glass, causing it to fog and reveal the fruits of her labor.

SCREW YOU!

"Well there you have it, Lieutenant." Detective Neville points at the glass. "That right there has got high school written _all_ over it."

Detective Kinsley giggles, glancing at Fay, curious to see her reaction. She isn't laughing. She's frowning. She would always frown when lost in thought, and now was no exception as she skims through the folder labeled "Niito Mansion". She holds it in her hands, opening it like a book. There's a distant look in her eyes, and the only movement she makes is to lick her thumb and flip to the next page. Fay feels a huge lump in her throat. She recalls having a similar lump earlier that morning when she had taken these photos.

* * *

><p>Neville was right; they did arrive late to the mansion. Detective Neville had been standing beside her as she crouched down beside one of the bodies.<p>

"You haven't taken a single picture." He crouches down to her level. "Is something wrong?"

"I-I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes, it's just," She nods at the crime scene, "was all of this really necessary?"

The conditions of the two corpses in the mansion's library were gruesome; there was so much blood. The corpses were drained, almost as if the blood inside was sucked right out of them.

Neville leans in and tilts the head of the woman's corpse to the side, exposing the neck. "Get a shot of the neck will you," he encourages, whistling. "Damn!"

"Yeah, talk about overkill," She agrees, leaning in to have a closer look, and snapping the photo. "Looks like the work of some kind of cannibal." She frowns, and looks back at Neville who looks as if he were lost in thought. "I'm getting the feeling you've seen this before."

"Only stories." He admits. "Heard something about a cult of blood drinkers. They say they're are these psychopaths who prey on people at night. It's probably nothing."

"Sounds like the stuff that puts children to bed early, but it still is probably worth checking into."

* * *

><p>The door to the room opens.<p>

"Jesus!" Fay shouts, dropping the folder, along with her previous recollection.

Officer Caden Sinclair's head peaks out from the slightly open door. "_Special Delivery for a Miss Lieutenant Harper,"_he sings. His eyes scan the room, catching Fay as she bends over to pick up the fallen papers; each page revealing a photo more gruesome than the one prior.

Fay looks at him and he feels her icy blue eyes, glaring daggers back at him. "For pity's sake," She shouts. "I'd appreciate it if everyone would start taking their jobs a little more seriously!"

"S-Sorry!" Caden apologizes, revealing the hot cup of coffee and bottled water in his hands. "I'm an idiot, I should've knocked first!"

She gathers the photos and places them back inside the folder. She then places the folder back on the table and sticks the one labeled "Miles Kramer" underneath her armpit. With her hands free she is able to hold the refreshments. Officer Sinclair wastes no time in handing them to her.

"If you'll all excuse me, I have a job to do."

Caden steps aside, allowing her to pass by. His eyes follow her as she leaves the room, feeling and wanting to do something - anything - to make amends for his previous actions. Soon the feeling fades and it is replaced by a feeling of unease. Neville and Kinsley are looking at him intently.

"What? I said I was sorry!"

"N-nothing." The Detectives state in unison.

"Seriously? Was it something I said?"

"If I were a betting man, I'd be willing to wager our Lieutenant has taken a personal interest in this case," Neville answers, rubbing his chin. "More than _usual_, that is."

"Okay, I'll bite."

"Just a hunch, _you know_? Kinsley, you saw her run out of here like a bat out of hell, chewing out Niko and Caden -in the middle of an interrogation!"

Detective Kinsley crosses her arms, staring at him in disbelief. "So you think _their methods_ were justified?"

"Not in the slightest."

"I don't see your point then, Neville."

"It's gotten personal. She knows the victim. Either that, or has a personal vendetta." He shows signs of frustration, as he pulls away at his necktie, and allows it to come undone. "I thought she had gotten over it, but she's been acting like this ever since we left the crime scene."

"A-And you didn't ask?" Caden shouts.

Kinsley's arches her brow. "You did ask, _right_?"

"I did." Neville sighs, placing a hand in the air. "But some questions, for everyone's sake, are questions best left unanswered." He let his hand fall and focuses his attention on the viewing glass to Interrogation.

Caden follows his gaze.

It wasn't the ideal response, but he wouldn't pursue it any further.

On the other side of the glass there is a seventeen year old girl, scribbling away on the glass with her index finger. She's a cheerleader, dressed to cheer, with pom-poms to boot. Her hair long and red, and light freckles are on her cheeks.

Even if he did care about Fay; he needed to start focusing more on his job. This girl was now his main priority. She was a possible witness, and she needed their help.

He reads her scribbles on the glass.

ASSHOLES!

He smirks at this, allowing a look of intrigue to grace his face. "I'm curious, what's her story?"

* * *

><p>Kelly hears the door open and close behind her. She hears the familiar sound of a woman's heels. She turns and greets Lieutenant Harper with a smile. "Took you long enough," she states, following the women's eyes toward the smudges on the glass behind her. "Oh - that! I was bored."<p>

"I see you found little trouble keeping yourself amused." Kelly shrugs, watching Fay place a bottle of water on the table. "Have a seat, _Miss Kramer."_

"I will," Kelly answers, grabbing a hold of the chair and pulling it back so she could sit. She was thirsty, and the bottle of water looks quite refreshing. She grabs it, and frowns as she struggles to unscrew the cap. "We've been through this a thousand times. It's Kelly, just call me Kelly." She sighs, and the cap finally comes undone. "Nobody calls me by the _slave name._"

Kelly's eyes meet Fay's, and she watches her as she takes the seat across from her. Kelly raises the bottle and gives her a toast. Fay nods back at her, watching her throat pulse as she drinks. "Okay, Kelly, earlier I think we all got off to a bad start-"

A loud exhale comes from Kelly, and the bottle hits the table; it's half empty.

"Let's start off fresh. As you know I'm Lieutenant Fay Harper, and like you, I also prefer not to use my _slave name."_

"Join the club." She states, poking the bottle.

She smiles in spite Kelly's response. "I'd like that," she studies her attire. "Does the uniform come with it?"

"Wait a minute," Kelly follows Fay's eyes, and looks down at her uniform. Kelly's eyes narrow in confusion. She looks back at Fay and grabs at the cloth covering her bosom. "Are you makin' fun of my uniform?"

Fay raises a hand, defensively."No, no, not at all." Her smile broadens. "I'm actually quite jealous. Last time we spoke you mentioned trying out for the team. So, congratulations…I tried out when I was your age and…well let's just say it didn't turn out too well."

"Well, that sucks. I _mean_, it wasn't like I even had time to change, before those assholescame and abducted me." She crosses her arms, remembering all too well how she had arrived in this predicament. "I don't even know why the hell I'm here -I may be a little past due on my cell phone bill, but other than that, I haven't the slightest clue of what money I could possibly owe anybody!"

Fay's smile fades. "I assure you the N.Y.P.D is willing to overlook that."She opens the manila folder in her hand, and removes a page, sliding it toward Kelly. "I'm sure you know this man" she asks, tapping the photo.

Kelly leans in; inspecting the mugshot. She smacks her teeth at the sight of a young man with freckles and red hair resembling her own.

If anything, you could almost say they looked like twins. Even their personalities, mimicked one another, considering the young man took the time to smile as he gave the photographer the finger.

Kelly looks away from the photo, "No," she whispers.

"No?"

"No, I don't know where he is. No, I haven't seen him. No, No, **NO!**"

"That's not-"

"I said I don't know!"

Fay stands and places the folder down on the table. She arrives at Kelly's side and places her hand on Kelly's shoulder. "Listen, this isn't about that, Kelly-"

Kelly brushes her hand away. "Are we done here? Because I am."

Fay didn't have the patience, or the caffeine for this crap.

_Why wouldn't she just shut up and listen?_

"Miss Kramer, would you just shut up and listen to me!"

Kelly turns her head away from her once again. Her doodles on the two-sided mirror were more interesting than Fay. She figured, if she could survive N.Y.P.D's lapdogs, the bitch who ordered around them couldn't be much worse.

"Damn it Kelly, this is important!"

Kelly turns to face Fay once again. "Is it a crime?" She jumps to her feet. "Why the hell am I here?" She points at the photo on the table. "Is it because of him?"

"Kelly-"

"I could give a rat's ass about him!"

**WOOSH!**

She lunges at the table, knocking away the mugshot, Fay's coffee, her bottled water -practically everything, including the manila folder that the mugshot had originated from. The folder's contents scatter throughout the room, leaving the Interrogation Room in disarray once again.

_Why wouldn't she let her finish?_

Fay shuts her eyes, sighing. "You weren't, you weren't supposed to see those…" Her eyes reopen, taking in Kelly's reaction.

Fay felt terrible, and somewhat responsible. No one should have a loved one's demise revealed in such a way.

_She should have just spit it out._

_She was no good at this sort of thing._

Kelly does little to hide her shock. Her eyes are wide, and her knees trembling as each of the gruesome photos continue to fall down around her. She catches one with a shaky hand. The photo displays the same man from the mugshot, and he is burnt almost beyond recognition. She could still see the resemblance and recognizes his familiar short locks of red unruly hair.

_It was him alright - there was no mistaking it._

She drops the grotesque photograph, almost as if it burnt her. She grabs another. This photo is of Miles in casual attire, posing for yet another mugshot.

She didn't realize she was crying until a hand falls on her shoulder once again. It's Fay's, and she gives her shoulder a firm squeeze. Kelly's shoulders shake involuntarily and her tears fall freely. And as she cries, her legs grow weak and she falls to her knees.

"K-Kelly, I'm so sorry." she whispers, kneeling down at her side and embracing her. She watches her sob uncontrollably, and for once in her life, she is unsure of what to do. She didn't have much of a family of her own; no kids. Neither did she have much experience dealing with the grieving families of victims. She could still count on one hand the amount of weeks since her promotion to _Homicide_.

Fay looks at the two sided mirror, almost as if a silent plea for help.

A moment passes, and no one arrives, so she wings it.

She runs a hand through Kelly's hair, soothing her. "He was your brother," she states, continuing her comforting strokes. "You did care about him - I'm sure it must be devastating for you to lose him."

"And that alone is why you should agree to work with us."

Fay looks up, and sees Detective Neville. She didn't see or hear him enter. His expression is stern and his demeanor is strictly business. He walks toward them, carrying a folder of his own. "With your help, we can find the bastard behind this." His eyes fall on Fay and she gives him a nod of approval, silently thanking him for knowing how to make one hell of an entrance.

"Are you willing to work with us?" she asks, completely convinced that Neville may have turned the tides of the interrogation.

Kelly dries her eyes with the back of her hand, leaving light smudges of black mascara on her freckled cheeks. She studies both detectives, eyes red and full of sorrow, and she nods back at them. "I want..I want to help." She admits, sniffling a little.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Detective Eugene Neville." He gestures with his hand toward Fay. "Lieutenant Harper and I will be working extensively on this case from this point forward." He focuses his attention back on Kelly. "Interestingly enough, Fay and your brother happen to have a history."

"Neville, that's -"

"Classified?" Neville interrupts, raising his brow. "I think Ms. Kramer deserves to know the truth behind the photo she now holds."

"This," Kelly waves the mugshot in her hand. "This is nothing out of the ordinary. Miles was never a _goodie-two-shoes_, if anything…trouble always seemed to find him. If he wasn't in _Juvie,_he was always out and about gambling. He loved to gamble. And when Dad found out he was never allowed back in the house."

Neville whistles loudly. "Underage gambling wasn't all your brother loved to do."

Fay frowns, and helps Kelly to her feet. "Kelly, your brother had a habit of taking things, things that didn't belong to him."

It was her turn to arch a brow. "So I've heard. Even I watch the news." she asks, taking a seat at the table.

Neville paces back and forth. "Steal a piece of candy and one gets a slap on the wrist. Up the ante and then were looking at some very serious repercussions."

"I've heard the stories, but I tried not to think all of them were true." Kelly bites her lip, and finally sees where this is going. "How much?" She looks up at Fay and over at Neville. "How much money did my brother take?"

"Over a quarter million," says Fay.

Neville shakes his head, adding, _"And he didn't bother offer any to charity."_

"**H-HOLY HELL!**"Kelly shakes her head in disbelief. "N-no, hell no! I wouldn't even know where to begin to spend that kind of money!" She shakes her head once again, focusing on Fay. "Miles never had that kind of money; he would've said something - anything!"

Neville stops pacing. "You mentioned before that your father and brother don't see eye to eye, and you specifically said your father forbid your brother from coming home, so when did you two find the time to chat?"

Kelly frowns, "He's my brother, it wasn't as if he fell off the face of the Earth after him and Dad bumped heads. He would sometimes come to visit me after school. Sometimes he would give me money when Mom and Dad wouldn't." She explains, looking down at her lap. "I should've known something was wrong, considering I haven't seen him in awhile."

Fay frowns, "You've been interrogated twice before now, why didn't say you anything?" she asks her.

Fay didn't know who to be angrier with, Kelly for lying or the surveillance team that never once caught sight of him meeting up with her. It made her question now more than ever if her promotion was out of pity due to her teams' incompetence.

"He's my brother!"

Fay rubs her temples, "Did your brother ever noticeably appear as if he were behaving out of the norm, or ever come off as if he were hiding something from you?"

"Miles was never one to talk like that. He never complained," Kelly runs a hand through her long, red hair. "Hearing him complaining about anything would be out of the norm. He liked to think he was untouchable and had it all figured out."

"You mean to tell me your brother was practically homeless and he never once showed any signs of discomfort, and you never once asked how he was getting by or where he was getting the money he was giving you?" Neville looks over at Fay. "I find that very hard to believe."

"Would you stop questioning me as if I'm some sort of criminal!" Kelly screams back at him.

"You are a criminal! You've been withholding information about your brothers whereabouts for months!" Neville shouts back at her. "You need to stop lying to us Kelly!"

"I'm not! Of course I asked him, but all he'd ever talk about was some girl he had the hotsfor." She smiles sadly, remembering his lovesick demeanor. "Nikki this, Nikki **that! **I want Nikki - Nikki wants **that! **Nikki, Nikki, Nikki, **NIKKI!**"

"Alright, Alright, we get it, we get it!" Neville states, having heard enough. He looks annoyed. "Have you ever been introduced to this girl?"

"I haven't."

"But he did want you to meet her, right?"

"What's there to meet? I feel like I already know her! I could probably tell you the girl's blood type; the boy was obsessed."

Fay and Neville lock eyes for a moment, almost as if thinking the same thing - **a lead!**

"Alright, what do you wanna know?"

Lieutenant Harper was the first to speak, "A name, a full name would be nice."

Kelly takes a moment to think. Finally it hits her, "Nicole, Her name was Nicole. Nicole Niito."

"What happened to Nikki?" Neville asks, looking somewhat baffled.

Fay smirks, "No one uses the _slave name_anymore, Detective Neville."

Neville looks confused and lost in thought.

Kelly turns to Fay. "D-does Mom and Dad know?" She asks.

She nods, "Your parents have been notified, and are working on booking a flight back to New York as we speak."

Neville looks at the folder in his possession, reading the name displayed on it.

_Niito Mansion._

He smacks his forehead, and holds the folder out for Fay to see. Her eyes widen and she whispers, "Nicole Niito." She then hits the table and Neville hits the folder on the palm of his hand. "**Nicole Niito!**" she shouts once again.

_What the hell was that?_

Kelly looks confused, "Wait. What? What is it?" she asks them. "Wait a minute, is she the one responsible for my brother's death?" she asks, staring at both of the Detectives.

"That we don't know yet, but she definitely is a person of interest." Neville answers.

Fay nods. "In order to ensure your safety, we've decided to place you in our Witness Protection Program, and from now on you'll be under strict-"She coughs, "Stricter surveillance."

"Like hell I am!" Kelly shouts. "I can take care of myself!"

"Kelly, this isn't up for discussion."

Neville looks at one of the photos; he sees it on the floor beside his shoe. He shakes his head. "Unless you've got plans to attend a barbeque in the near future, you'll listen to reason."

Kelly frowns at Neville.

She didn't like the way he worded that and made light of her predicament and her brother's demise. However, she wasn't stupid. Neither did she want to end up like Miles. If anything, she wants to stick around long enough to see the bastard responsible rot in a cell or fry in an electric chair!

She sighs and falls back into her seat. "Whatever." She responds, announcing her defeat.

_How does he do it?_

Fay is shocked. She usually expects more of a fight out of the girl. She turns to Neville, motioning for him to retrieve something. Neville gets the hint and heads for the door. He opens it and two eavesdroppers almost stumble into the interrogation room.

"Kinsley, Caden," He smiles, nodding to each of them. "Can I help you?"

Caden and Kinsley point accusingly at one another only to realize the other is doing the same. Caden frowns at Kinsley, expecting more loyalty than that, and Kinsley frowns back at him. She wasn't willing to lie down and be his scapegoat either.

"_Busted."_Neville chirps.

Fay turns to face them. She focuses on Caden and he can see his presence is annoying her. "What is it now?" She demands.

"Detective Rebecca Kinsley has just informed me," Neville pauses, winking at Kinsley and grinning from ear to ear. "Officer Caden Sinclair has volunteered to chaperone Miss Kramer."

Caden immediately shakes his head, obviously not a fan of Neville's, sick and twisted sense of humor. "I-I never-"

"**YEAH!**"Detective Kinsley agrees, slapping him on his back. "I was shocked at first," She frowns in thought. "I never knew he was so dedicated until just now!"

Caden does his best to refrain from hitting them, finding their antics comparable to the _Three Stooges, _but minus one.

"Caden, is this true?" Fay asks is disbelief.

_Maybe he wasn't such of an annoyance after all._

Caden scratches his head. "Uh," Rather than let her down, he gives in. "Kinda?"

She smiles, and Caden blushes.

"Well then, it's settled." Fay states, and turns back toward Kelly. "From now on, Officer Caden Sinclair will be your personal escort, Kelly."

Kelly rolls her eyes, "Whippety-freakin'-do…"


	3. Chapter 2: Even dogs have their uses

**A/N:** Okay, Ronnie Rude is back with another chapter! I have no idea if anyone else is reading this, but I'm having a blast writing it. Nobody is reviewing, and even though that is unfortunate, I think I've come to terms with the fact that this story will probably have a niche audience. Oh well, _whatev's_. Anyways, this in my opinion is my favorite chapter so far. Despite it being my longest chapter ever, I feel as if it really sets the tone for this story. I tried my best to truly capture the emotions of each of my characters and I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to grow fond of each of them, so it's going to suck torturing them and killing them in Gantz, but cool people die all the time so, _whatev's_. I also mentioned there being a Easter Egg in the last chapter. Unfortunately no one got it, because no one reviewed, but I went ahead and revealed what it was in this chapter.

**Edit:** I accidentally called McKenzie, Kori a couple of times. This has been fixed. Sorry for the confusion!

Next chapter will be our first mission, and I can't begin to tell you how awesome it will be...I've got goosebumps just thinking about it!

Read and review, and please **BE HONEST**.

Criticism is **ALWAYS** welcome.

I really want to know what you guys think!

**WARNING!**

There is a lot more swearing in this chapter.

I tried to keep it to a minimum do to the rating, but yeah... that didn't quite work out.

Regardless...I can always up the rating if necessary...

* * *

><p><strong>Second Chances<strong>

**"Where's the Team Spirit?"**

**Chapter 2**

_"Even dogs have their uses."_

* * *

><p>Johnny Kudo dries his short black hair with a towel. He sniffs his forearm and frowns. He couldn't believe his efforts to rid himself of the foul odor were still futile. He still smells like garbage and Ethan Wyatt is to blame.<p>

People always say hate is a strong word, but Johnny didn't think hatred is enough to describe his loathing for Ethan Wyatt. Similar to his favorite comic book hero, Spiderman, he considers Ethan Wyatt his Flash Thompson. Ethan would antagonize him and bully him at school whenever given the opportunity, and unfortunately, today had been yet another golden opportunity for Ethan to make his life a living hell.

Apparently, according to Ethan Wyatt, Johnny Kudo wasn't allowed to leave his trashcan. He made this point clear earlier, humiliating Johnny and dumping him head first in the nearest garbage can. He'd like to think that he was use to it by now, but this is far from the truth.

* * *

><p>Inside the trashcan, Johnny smells spoiled milk and has the sudden realization that something, perhaps a bug is inside the trashcan along with him. He freaks out and tips over the can, spilling the can's contents. He sits up, ignoring the sounds of laughter, and removes the banana peel on his head.<p>

He looks down at his school uniform and sees that his shirt is ruined with spaghetti stains. He frowns despite the bags under his eyes and looks up at Ethan. He is no longer able to hide his anger. His fist hits the ground, and small cracks begin to form where his knuckles meet one of the tiles. He looks down at his fist, recognizing the black glove that covers it. He'd forgotten to take off his Gantz suit this morning; it is barely visible underneath his school uniform.

_How convenient._

"Aw, what's the matter Johnny?" Ethan asks, encouraging others to laugh along with him. "This trashcan not big enough for ya?"

Johnny cracks his knuckles, and shakes his head. "No, but I'm sure you'll fit it just fine."

* * *

><p>Johnny snaps out of his stupor, and feels a sense of perversion after relishing in getting back at Ethan. Sure, it feels great to get even, but at the same time it feels so wrong. Ethan never stood a chance, and Johnny had taken advantage of that for the first time in his life.<p>

_You are no hero!_

Johnny throws the towel he holds into the hamper, and adjusts the other around his waist, making it tighter. His computer returns from its hibernate state, revealing his desktop. A picture of a freckled cheerleader with long red hair smiles back at him, causing him to blush.

_How can you continue to ogle her?!_

_You killed her brother you sick bastard._

He looks past her charm and at the small chat window fighting for his attention; it notifies him that someone would like to initiate a chat.

Johnny Kudo slips on a pair of sweatpants and sits down at his computer. He accepts the chat invite, genuinely interested as he reads who sent the request. The person's username is N, a user he met online sometime prior.

N is what he likes to call a pen pal, considering he is the only person from Tokyo, Japan who ever chats with him online. N always says he hates it when he calls him a pen pal, complaining that it implies that they're friends, but Johnny knows better. People who weren't friends didn't constantly chat on the internet, revealing things about themselves that neither of them dare to tell others. They share different views and opinions, but have one thing they share in common.

_Gantz…_

Johnny rolls his eyes, reading N's message. "I only wish to exchange information, nothing more."

N is always quick and to the point with his messages, and his English is surprisingly very good. And even though N claims that the longer they spend chatting the more susceptible they're to the risk of someone being able to spy on their discussion; it doesn't fool Johnny. Sometimes Johnny thinks his apprehension is due to N being uncomfortable with speaking with others in general. Usually, after receiving a message such as this, it'd be Johnny's job to do the complete opposite of just sharing Intel; he would keep N company. Johnny enjoys and looks forward to their discussions, and even if N will never admit it, they were friends.

Johnny bites his lip, looking up at the modeled jet hanging from his ceiling. He looks back at the screen; it takes him much longer than usual to respond. N notices, and another message comes in. It reads back as, "Are you ignoring me? Respond now."

"I'm thinking," is Johnny's response, coming in under the username of _J-Pimin'_. He runs his hand through his hair, considering how lame his response sounds, and expects N to roll his eyes at the sight of it. "I've been thinking about a lot of things lately."

"What is there to think about?"

"Why us?" Johnny sighs as he continues to type. "Out of all the people who could've been chosen, why us?"

"You ask me this as if it matters." N replies, his response coming in quicker than Johnny expects. "The only thing that matters is survival."

''What is the point in surviving if it's at the expense of others?" Johnny bangs his fist on the table and places his head in his hands. He sighs in frustration and hears the sound of N responding back to his last message, but he takes a moment longer to collect himself.

_You're the villain, not me! _

Johnny looks at his hands, remembering the mission prior.

* * *

><p>Nikki looks at Johnny as he raises his right arm to aim his gun at her.<p>

In comparison to Miles' X-Gun lying next to his passed out form, Johnny's gun is shaped like a Y.

"You people need to start listening to me!" Johnny looks at the man holding the gun beside him. "This isn't a game. This is your life Kenny!"

Kenny nods, allowing a smile to form on his lips. "I know, I know, but was that cool or what?" He asks. "I just blew its friggin' arm off man!" He points at his X-Gun. "There's like some sort of delay, but damn, that was awesome!"

"It's a 5 second delay, and don't you forget it!" Johnny pauses, looking down. "These things, I've fought them before, and they're unpredictable. 5 seconds can cost you your life!"

Johnny hears someone vomit. The little girl to the right of him falls to her knees and empties her stomach. A woman, one of the other newcomers kneels beside her, patting her back as she spews forth the contents in her stomach. "It's going to be alright, Mckenzie." She runs a hand through her hair. "Muscle Rider won't let the monsters get us."

_Muscle Rider? _

_Right! That was him. _

_He was Muscle Rider and he was their hero. _

_These people were relying on him to keep them safe!_

Johnny tries to focus despite smelling the putrid smell of bile. He silently wishes a kid her age didn't have to see any of this, but there is no other way. It would all be over soon, and all of them would make it back this time.

"Keep Mckenzie safe, Karen." Johnny instructs the woman. He looks to his right. "Kenny, just try not to do anything stupid." Johnny looks back at Nikki. "Miles made the mistake of trusting you," He whispers, using a sword in his left hand to point at the blue blood gushing from where Nikki's arm had been previously attached. "I won't make the same mistake after seeing the atrocities you're capable of."

Nikki touches her wound, wincing and staring at the blood. Her eyes widen in shock at the blue blood that stains her palm. None of it makes sense to her and she looks at Johnny as if begging him to explain why this is happening. He avoids her eyes and swallows, ridding himself of the lump forming in his throat.

"Just let me kill it!" Kenny shouts.

"Shut up Kenny!" Johnny shouts, silencing him. "What I hold in my hand is your ticket out of here. " He explains. "It's called a Y-Gun, and when I pull both of these triggers, three cables will wrap around you and take you away from here." He smiles at her; it is the only sign of remorse she can see behind his mask. "For Miles' sake, it'd be quick and painless."

"Where will it take me?" Nikki asks, beginning to cry.

_Good question._

"I don't know."

Nikki looks at the Y-Gun as if lost in thought. Her eyes glance over at Kenny. He is aiming his X-Gun at her. It's evident by her expression that she knows she must die, but seemingly debates on whether or not it should be painful.

_Did she deserve such an option?_

Nikki nods and stands to her feet, accepting her fate.

Johnny sighs in relief. He didn't expect her to be so cooperative. He readies his gun, but is unable to pull the trigger. A gush of red mist rains down on him. His eyes widen and he turns to see Kenny fall to his knees with his head no longer on his shoulders.

Mckenzie throws up again and Karen readies her X-Gun.

"This is all your fault!" Miles Kramer rises to his feet and aims his X-gun at Johnny. "I'll kill all of you!"

"M-Miles? You killed him!" Johnny blinks. "You killed Kenny!" He reiterates, looking at Miles. He isn't human; his eyes glow an unnatural red hue now. "What did she do to you?"

Unnatural colored eyes, blue blood and fanged teeth; it didn't make any sense, but he'd seen all this before. This was all déjà vu to him. They killed the clown alien, so why was this happening again?

"You did this to us!" Miles shouts, baring his fangs at him. "You turned us into these monsters." He reaches into his hoodie with his free hand and retrieves a controller. He laughs sounding crazed as he looks at it. He holds it out for Johnny to see. "Look at that. We're aliens. You made us both targets."

Johnny looks at the controller and frowns. There are two red dots and three green. There would have been four if Kenny hadn't been killed by Miles, but that still didn't explain why 2 red dots were present.

_Unless_…

Miles was right.

He was no longer human and Gantz had made him a target.

"I won't do it." Johnny lowers his gun. "I'm not going to kill you Miles!"

Miles laughs, dropping the controller. "Idiot. Of course you won't, because I won't let you." He points his gun at McKenzie, and Karen hugs her close, fearing for the worst. "You're going to let us escape or I'm going to kill them too!"

"Like hell you will!"

Johnny drops his Y-Gun and charges at Miles. He raises his sword quicker then Miles can react, and brings it down. Miles stumbles backward, but regains his composure. He looks down in his hand and his X-Gun is chopped in half. He tosses it aside and clenches his fists, feeling the fluid in his suit pump into his gloved hands. He steps backward, eyes widening as Kudo's blade barely misses him once again and leaves a cut in his hoodie, exposing the suit covering his abs; the muscles look unnaturally enlarged and enhanced by the suit.

"You dare take a swing at me? You're delusional." Miles clenches his fists and what remains of his hoodie is ripped to shreds by his muscles bursting out from underneath of it. He laughs. "You must really think you're a superhero."

"Miles, don't hurt anyone else!" Nikki shouts. "L-let's just go!"

"Quiet, Nikki!" He pops his neck and raises his fists. "Once I'm through with this idiot were getting out of here together. Besides, if I don't kill em' they'll just hunt us down like animals."

"Would you listen to yourself?" Kudo screams out in frustration. "You're the one who's delusional!"

Kudo swings his sword again and a few strands of Miles' red hair are cut and go airborne. Miles frowns and continues on the defensive as Kudo continues to take swings at him with his sword. Miles' back hits the wall, and Kudo attempts to stab him with his sword. Miles side steps him causing Kudo to plunge his sword deep into the wall.

Miles laughs at him.

"Always claiming to be a hero, and calling me a villain." Miles places his hand on his chest. "I'm actually trying to save someone!" He points back at Johnny, accusingly. "Something you're incapable of doing – you're a damn hypocrite!"

"You're the hypocrite!" Johnny shouts. "You're allowing the game to change who you are! She's no longer human, she's an alien and you let her turn you into one of them!"

"Who the hell is Gantz, anyways?" Miles responds. "When do we take a stand and stop letting him control us? This isn't a game anymore!"

Johnny tries tugging on the handle to free his sword but it's to no avail. He frowns behind his mask and looks to his right to see Miles's fist. When it connects with his jaw, Johnny relinquishes the hold on his sword and grunts as Miles catches his stumbling form and continues to knee him in the stomach.

"This – is – our – lives!" He shouts, pausing in between delivering each blow.

After the fifth knee is delivered, Miles tosses Johnny to the side, but Johnny latches onto his hand. Johnny shakes his head as Miles tries to tug his hand free. Johnny's muscles in his left arm bulge, allowing him to yank on Miles' right arm. Miles stumbles forward, and Johnny bumps into him with his shoulder. As Miles stumbles back Johnny lets go of his hand to jump and go for a spinning roundhouse kick to Miles' face.

Miles recovers and leans back. The kick barely misses him. He smiles at Johnny, loving the look of bewilderment on his face when he realizes that he misses and kicks him square in his chest. Johnny flies backward and lands on the ground with the air knocked out of him.

Miles uses this as an opportunity to go for the sword. He grabs it with both of his hands, twisting it and removing just the sword's handle. Strangely enough, it leaves a slit in the wall where the blade should have still been. Miles turns with the sword and Kudo appears out of nowhere, catching him off guard. He jumps and wraps his legs around Miles's neck, leaning back and using his leg muscles to flip Miles in a takedown.

Mckenzie looks up from Karen's embrace to see the fine move's execution. "Wow, _the_ _Muscle Ride!_" She whispers, wiping some bile from her lip.

Miles and Johnny hit the ground hard, and Johnny locks in a headscissors.

"Got'cha!" Johnny shouts down at Miles, grabbing his arm and twisting it. "Now give me the sword, and maybe, just maybe I won't break your arm."

"You'll have to break it."

"Dude, just stop already!" Johnny shouts, struggling to hold onto him. Just as Miles is about to drop the sword handle he opens his mouth and attempts to bite Johnny's leg. Johnny sees this and immediately releases him, crawling backward. Johnny points at him and his face turns pale. "You tried to bite me!"

"I did." Miles wipes some drool from his chin, breathing heavily. "Go ahead and sue me." He pops his neck once again and lunges for Johnny.

A couple of steps forward and Miles comes to a stop. Something hits, like a small explosion, and it happens again. Each time it hits him hard, causing him to lose his balance and almost drop the sword.

Miles looks over at Karen and her eyes widen, but she continues to press both triggers on her X-Gun. "Rider, now's your chance!" she shouts at Johnny Kudo.

Johnny rises to his feet and charges. He reaches Miles and grabs the hand he's holding the sword handle with and punches him in the face with his right, repeatedly. Miles' head snaps back after the third blow and this gives Kudo the opportunity to try and wrestle the sword handle from him with both hands.

Miles tries his hardest to hold onto the sword's handle, but the one of the white nodes on his wrist rupture, squirting blue ooze. His eyes widen and he feels the remaining nodes scattered across his suit rupture simultaneously. His muscles retract in size and he loses grip of the sword handle, twisting it as it slips from his grasp.

"You wanted this, not me!" Johnny shouts.

"Kudo, you idiot!"

A blade shoots out of the swords handle, meeting flesh. Miles and Johnny latch onto one another, struggling to regain their balance. Miles coughs and looks down to see the sword in his sternum. He grits his fanged teeth as blood begins to pour from his lips and places a hand on Kudo's mask, pulling it off.

* * *

><p>Johnny Kudo touches his face, remembering the feeling of Miles Kramer unmasking him. He feels as if he's foolish for thinking he could save everyone. The end result is always the opposite of his goal. He survives, and others die; his efforts all being in vain.<p>

A moment passes, and Johnny looks up to see N has sent him numerous messages; "You can't have your cake and eat it. People are going to die. People die all the time. If you want to die, continue to worry about saving others who need to save themselves. If you want to survive, you have to play smart. You have to start worrying more about saving yourself."

Johnny shakes his head, "How can you be so selfish?" he demands in his response.

"How can I not be? I am willing to be selfish for as long as it takes to survive this. I have survived long enough that with my knowledge I am no use to anyone dead." N answers, allowing his text to sink in. He later adds, "My survival is now a priority."

Johnny leans back in his chair, reflecting on N's words. They anger him, but also call out to him, encouraging him to consider things from a different perspective. He can picture himself stating the same thing with similar arrogance and it scares him. Never before could he picture himself being so selfish to choose himself over another, but with knowledge being invaluable, he could definitely understand how his survival would be considered a priority.

Kudo looks at his computer screen, hearing another message from N. "Oh. I get it now. You failed your first mission, didn't you?" N asks.

* * *

><p>Lawrence Marcellus recalls having a conversation with his daughter. They had a typical father and daughter discussion, and the topic had been simple. Lawrence asked what his <em>little princess<em> wanted to be when she grew up. Ironically enough, she never spoke of wanting to be a singer like her mother. She didn't even desire to follow in the footsteps of her old man – and **THAT **in itself was a relief!

He watches a group of cheerleaders crowding around one of their own. The huddle disperses as soon as they toss a girl up into the air. Now airborne, she folds her arms across her chest and performs a back flip and lands in the waiting arms of the girls below her.

Lawrence Marcellus feels his lip arch upward, forming a smile. He runs a palm across his sweaty buzzed head and raises his scoped M14 high enough to allow him to lock-in its stand. He crouches.

Location was everything in his line of work. His position, hidden atop the roof of the school would only aid him. The school itself couldn't be any more remarkable, towering over the football field at an impressive five stories. He knows he has the upper hand.

The target is now in clear sight. Through the scope he sees her in detail. She is anywhere between the ages of 16 and 18 with long auburn red hair. She has freckles across her cheeks that do very little to hurt her appearance. She is well proportioned with curves in all the right places and her uniform does very little to hide this.

_Kelly Kramer._

He figures she's popular. Girls like her usually fit that mould or at least during his time they always did. And he couldn't have been more right about anyone. Everyone around her caters to her every need. One hands her a towel, the other a bottle of water, and another engages her in conversation while another tends to her hair. All while this took place, no one thought to help the less pretty brunette who had skinned her knee. No one offers her a hand, a drink of water, and not even a bandage to dress the wound.

Lawrence aims the crosshair at Kelly Kramer, reassuring himself that today he would be doing the world a service. It's that thought alone that makes it so much easier to pull the trigger.

Unfortunately, he doesn't take the shot.

Lawrence drops his aim and exhales sharply. "I-I can't!" He shakes head, and dries his brow on his sleeve. "I don't know why, b-but I can't!" he shouts.

Lawrence falls onto his back, wheezing as soon as his back meets the concrete.

He can't breathe.

_Inhaler. _

_Where is his inhaler?_

He searches, frantically, trying to find the tool on his person that would aid him from his terminal illness. His hand falls on a small bulge in his chest pocket and he sighs, removing it and raising it to his lips.

He had every reason in the world to pull the trigger, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It hadn't been a problem in the past, so why now? Why did his feelings, his emotions and his weaknesses have to stop him now?

Lawrence removes the inhaler from his lips, relaxing at the sensation of being able to breathe without irregularity. He raises his hand to shield his gaze from the sun, and smiles.

_I want to be a cheerleader daddy!_

A single tear falls from his cheek, and his smile leaves him. He sits up once again, resuming his aim. Much to his dismay, two officersapproach his target. For a moment they talk, and then they take her into custody. As the two officers lead her off the field, one of them wearing sunglasses looks in Lawrence's direction, and Lawrence hides. And while he hides, for what feels like an eternity, he curses himself for failing his mission.

Lawrence shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. That had taken place hours ago and it was all he could seem to think about as another fist collides with his face. He spits and looks up to see a bald man wearing sunglasses shake his now swollen fist. Lawrence looks from left to right and thinks that he is seeing doubles as the two men holding him look like twins.

He hears footsteps.

"Murai, Kamui, drop him." Another man shouts from behind the bald headed man assaulting him. The two men holding Lawrence release his arms and he falls on the floor.

Lawrence coughs, spitting out a tooth. He looks up and sees a man in a pin-striped suit place a hand on the bald headed man's shoulder. "Tam, kill the girl and then dispose of this trash before it starts to stink." The man in the pin-striped suit instructs.

Tam nods, "As you wish, Mr. Le'Chance."

"Wait!" Lawrence shouts, raising a hand, "Leon! I'll do it! I'll do it! I'll kill her! I'll kill Kelly Kramer!" He tries to stand. "Just don't hurt her, don't hurt my daughter!" He begs him.

Tam frowns and Murai and Kamui, who were previously retraining Lawrence, step away. They allow enough room so that Tam can run at Lawrence and kick him hard in the stomach. "You dare utter his name with such disrespect." He reaches into his suit jacket and retrieves a gun.

Lawrence groans on the floor and Tam aims the gun at his head. He is ready to shoot, but a hand falls on his shoulder once again. "Tam, I've changed my mind." Leon Le'chance squeezes his shoulder and Tam lowers his gun. "Tam, take Murai and Kamui, and get Mr. Marcellus cleaned up. He has a very important job to do."

Tam nods, and conceals his weapon. "Apparently, even dogs have their uses." He motions for Murai and Kamui to aid him in gathering the beaten man.

"Indeed they do." Leon Le'Chance responds turning and looking out his penthouse window. He enjoys the view of New York City. He raises an ice pack to his swollen jaw, wincing as he applies it. His phone rings shortly afterward and he answers it.

"What is it?" He asks.

"Hope drew another picture, and you're going to want to see this." The woman on the other end responds.

"I'm on my way." He replies, ending the call and pocketing his cell phone.

He turns and tosses the ice pack to the side. He stops at a glass coffee table. On the table there is a child's drawing of a man in a pin-striped suit holding a smoking gun in an alleyway. On the ground there is a redheaded male; he is bleeding profusely. He removes a lighter from his pocket, flipping it open and igniting the flame.

"I'm a man of my word, Miles." The flames burn the drawing. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to get back what's rightfully mine."

* * *

><p>A woman hangs up her cell phone. She frowns. In her hands she holds a child's drawing. There are similar drawings and paintings scattered all around the room. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and looks down at the drawing. It's a picture of a little girl with her back against a brick wall. Behind her there are the shadows of a crowd of people casted on the wall; it looks as if they have her surrounded. Each of them is aiming a gun at her.<p>

The woman turns to look at the little girl sitting behind her. She resembles the girl in the drawing. "Hope, what the hell is this supposed to be?" She asks her.

Hope drops her paint brush and looks up at the woman. She looks down at the drawing she is currently working on. It is a windshield view of a cop and cheerleader in a cop car; it looks as if they're singing. She looks up at the woman, and answers her question. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" The woman yells back at her. "Who are these people, and why are they after you?"

"I don't know."

"God Damn it!" The woman shouts, running a hand through her hair.

"Catherine you're scaring me." Hope cries, and tears begin to form. She looks to her left and her eyes widen. Whatever she sees causes her to immediately dry her eyes. "I mean, I just miss my Daddy, when is he coming to get me?"

Catherine kneels beside the girl and runs a hand through her hair. "I'm sure your father is doing everything in his power to ensure that he can get back to see you." She smiles at Hope. "So no more crying, okay sweetie?"

"Uh-huh." Hope nods, and looks to her left once again.

Catherine follows her gaze.

_What in the world did she keep looking at?_

* * *

><p>"I'm the king of the world!" An African-American college student screams at the top of his lungs; it is amazing that he can actually be heard over the loud rock music playing. The sunroof to the four door coup is open, allowing him to stand up on the seats and stick his head out. He holds a camera, filming the cars around him. "Citizens of New York City! I welcome you all to the Elijah Conner Experience!" A horn hunks back at him and a driver in a passing car gives him the middle finger. "The hell's your problem man?" Elijah asks, continuing to film him.<p>

A Caucasian college student is driving and he looks in the rear view mirror at Elijah's antics, and then over at Goth attired girl riding shotgun. She shrugs back at him, forcing him to act. "O-Okay, C-Conner!" He shouts nervously. "You can stop now. People are beginning to become pissed."

"Tyler, Is he always like this?" she asks him, massaging her temples.

"Only when he drinks. He's usually the most level-headed guy I know." Tyler punches the roof and the car swerves. "Get back in here before you wreck my camera!"

"Dumb ass!" Elijah shouts down at him. "You keep driving like that and you'll wreck my car!"

"Dumas! My last name is Dumas!" Tyler hears a snort and looks over at the girl beside him. "Oh, now you're on Conner's side." He states, unable to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"C'mon it was funny." She defends.

"Ben, you're NOT helping." He states in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, fine!" Ben throws up her hands in exasperation. She turns down the volume and changes the radio station.

"Hey, I was listening to that!" Tyler complains.

Elijah climbs down from the sunroof with a look of confusion on his face. "So was I." He looks back and forth between the two of them. "What gives?"

Ben reaches over and presses a button to close the sunroof. She smirks. "Problem solved."

Tyler shakes his head and listens to the radio broadcast; it catches his interest.

"Cock-a-doodley-dooby-doo listeners!" The man on the radio greets them. The voice is instantly recognizable, but he introduces himself regardless. "It's your radio disc jockey, Bobbie the Baby Love Bird with some news from the Grapevine. If anyone asks, just tell em' a little bird told ya."

Elijah leans forward and opens another beer. "Turn it up." He requests.

Tyler reaches over and turns up the volume just as it gets good.

"I'm getting reports that justice has been served in the concrete jungle. Word is that the villain himself, Miles Kramer was found dead in the back of an alley this morning. That's right folks; somebody FINALLY got that damn ginger bread man! But who? Was it that crazy masked vigilante, Muscle Rider, or was it just some poor old sap that wanted to get even? And get this folks, they didn't find a damn dime on him. If that isn't cheap, I don't know what is! One thing's for certain…we can rest assured that it's safe to make a deposit in the bank again."

"So they finally got him." Elijah pauses to chug his beer. "Sort of sucks, really."

The car stops at a red light and to their right is a cop car. Elijah immediately drops his beer and looks in the rear view mirror to see another cop car not too far behind them. "Oh crap!" He shouts, attempting to look natural and anything but intoxicated.

Ben looks out her window and the officer in the cop car beside them waves at her none the wiser. In the passenger seat of the cop car there is a redheaded teenager dressed in a cheerleader's uniform.

Officer Caden Sinclair turns and his smile fades. "Drinking and driving, and probably underage." He sighs. "I better call it in." He reaches for his radio, and a hand smacks it.

He looks at his hand in disbelief and then over at his passenger. "U-um, what are you doing, Ms. Kramer?" he asks her.

"My NAME is Kelly." She shouts, avoiding his gaze.

"Okay, Kelly." He sighs once again. "What are you doing?"

"What are YOU doing?"

_Is there an echo in the car or is it just him?_

"My job."

She turns and faces him. "Your job is to take me home!" She points a finger at him. "I'm not going to sit here and watch you harass other kids!" She runs a hand through her auburn hair and groans in frustration. "This is so un-cool!"

"Fine." Caden places his hand back on the wheel. "I'll be cool while the world goes to hell around us."

Kelly looks out the window and there is an awkward silence. She looks down at her phone and sighs. Ethan Wyatt, apparently had gotten into a fight with someone at school. She reads his next text message and sighs. He had been suspended from school, indefinitely.

She knows he expects her to respond back, defending him from the school's injustice, but right now, his problems were not of her concern. Her brother had just been murdered and she felt as if the world didn't care enough about his passing or how she felt. That in itself is the epitome of injustice.

A tear rolls down her cheek. "I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye." She whispers.

"Did you want to talk about it?" Caden looks over at her. "I-It might make you feel better."

Kelly frowns and wipes her eyes on her sleeves. "Shut up and leave me alone!" She screams back at him.

She diverts her attention to her window and Caden's eyes widen in response to her outburst. He looks back at the road. He hates this feeling; it feels as if another brick is added to the wall between them. How can you protect someone that hates your guts? He doesn't know, and feels as if he's screwing up his job already.

There is another awkward silence.

He reaches for the radio dial, aiming to put on some music. He finds a suitable a radio station.

"Alright listeners, that's enough news for now. Here's a song requested by caller number 202; Second Chances by Peter Bjorn and John!" The DJ announces.

Caden smiles hearing the familiar drums. "Wow, I haven't heard this song in ages." He mentions out loud.

Kelly Kramer rolls her eyes as the song envelops the car in sound.

_**When you flew out of the nest; You made a mistake; Flew all the way back!**_

Caden bops his head to the lyrics, and reaches over to turn up the volume.

_**When you got back to your den; One minute too late was already wrecked!**_

"Oh man, I love this part!" Caden snaps his fingers. _**"I, I,"**_ he sings along.

Kelly Kramer arches her brow, and looks at him as if he has lost his mind. She folds her arms, not understanding his antics. He looks at her and nudges arm, encouraging her to sing along with him. _**"It's a fraction of a whole but it's so HARD to control!"**_ He sings and nudges her once again. Kelly begins to smile. A blush forms on her cheeks and she shoves Caden away from her. He laughs and drums on the dashboard. _**"I, I,"**_ He sings, swaying from side to side, and silently begging her to join in.

_Alright, fine!_

Kelly and Caden look away from each other simultaneously and their heads snap back to face each other once again. _**"Get this straight!"**_ They each point at one another as they sing;

_**You can't can't count on a second chance; the second chance will never be found!**_

Caden pretends as if he is strumming an air guitar and Kelly dances, alternating between pointing her left and right index fingers at the ceiling.

_**You can't can't count on a second try; the second try will never come 'round!**_

Kelly looks at Caden, and he lifts his left hand off the steering wheel, popping a fictional vibration up and past his shoulder. He allows it to go down his right arm. He looks at Kelly and she catches it with her left and allows it to go to her right in a similar fashion. She sends it back his way and he catches it, pretending to gobble it up and swallow it.

Kelly laughs as they rock from left and right. _**"Ooooooh, Ooooooh-Oh-Ooooooh!"**_ They sing in perfect harmony and she smiles, almost forgetting how great it felt to just have fun. She looks out her window and a black car matches their car's speed. The car's window lowers and a man wearing black sunglasses aims a submachine gun at her. Her smile fades and an entire clip is emptied, shattering her window.

* * *

><p>Detective Kinsley enters the autopsy room. She places a hand over her mouth and swallows the bile forming in the back of her throat. The smell of the morgue is nauseating, and she tries her best not to vomit.<p>

"This must be your first time," A short old man smiles at her behind his thick rimmed glasses and looks back down at the corpse in front of him. "You sort of get used to it after awhile."

"Doctor Jensen."

"And you must be, Rebecca?"

"Yes, and I assume Lieutenant Harper made you aware of why I am here?"

"Yes, yes, of course." He responds, nodding, but never taking his eyes off his work.

He shakes his head and Rebecca arrives at his side to view the body. On the gurney, a brunette girl, no older than 6 stares back at him; her expression is blank and devoid of all life. Rebecca gasps and looks at Dr. Jensen, confirming that her eyes are not deceiving her; a little girl did lay dead before them.

"Horrible, isn't it?"

"Horrible," Rebecca shakes her head. "No, that can't describe this. It just doesn't do it justice if you ask me."

"I agree. It does always concern me to see those younger pass on before me," He sighs and places a hand over the girl's eyes, closing them. He strokes the girl's hair, and smiles back at Rebecca.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did she-"

"Drowned." Dr. Jensen interrupts, and covers the corpse. "Poor McKenzie was left unattended by her family for a moment too long."

"What kind of parent leaves a child to drown?"

"Quite a few, unfortunately. You sort of get used to it after awhile." He wheels McKenzie away. "However, you're not here to talk about McKenzie. You're here for a fate much grimmer than that."

"Miles Kramer." Rebecca whispers, frowning. "I read and compiled his report." She shakes her head. "Multiple gunshot wounds. Five in total. A knife wound to the sternum. Probably caused by a long blade. The victim was then set on fire and left to burn. All a bit much if you ask me."

"Well done, Detective Kinsley," says Doctor Jensen, and he wheels out another gurney. "But surely you knew there was more to this gruesome murder than meets the eye."

"How is someone set on fire without gasoline, a lighter, matches or anything else flammable in the middle of a downpour?" Rebecca crosses her arms and looks at the covered corpse. "It just doesn't add up."

"Spontaneous Human Combustion." He states, removing the sheet from Miles' corpse. "This man was not set on fire. He erupted into flames."

Rebecca grimaces at the sight of Miles' charred remains. "You can't be serious." She responds, and rubs her temple. "Fay said that you had something substantial to add to the case." She gestures toward the corpse. "This is far from _substantial_."

Rebecca sighs.

It was a waste of time coming here.

She turns to leave. "Wait" Doctor Jensen calls out, stopping her in her tracks. "I've done my research, Detective, I assure you. There have been 200 instances of this in the past 300 years. All unexplainable."

"Doctor—"

"This one, I can explain." His gloved hands force open Miles' mouth. His teeth are sharp and pointy. "This man is not normal. This man is not human."

Rebecca Kinsley looks around, allowing a dopey grin to grace her features. She raises her hands, "Alright Neville, Harper, you got me." She giggles and wipes a tear from her eyes. "You guys can all come out of hiding now! The joke is on me!"

"Detective—"

"You even got the creepy mortician in on the gag, I'm impressed!"

"This isn't some joke, Detective!"

"Are we done here? Because I'm leaving."

"If you leave now, what will you have to report?"

"Oh, I don't know…maybe that you're insane!"

Doctor Jensen chuckles, and then stops abruptly. He stares at her, looking almost as if he were never more serious about anything ever before. "I have more to show you."

He looks over Rebecca's shoulder and at the microscope behind her. He smiles. "Before you leave, I would like you to look into that microscope."

"Fine!" Rebecca shouts, "I'll humor you, but if you start telling me that aliens exist and are plotting to take over the world, I'm hightailing it out of here quicker than you can say, _we're not alone!_"

Doctor Jensen points at the microscope once again, and Rebecca turns to face it. She shakes her head, realizing once again how ridiculous this all sounds. She reaches the microscope and leans over to peer inside. The slide is blurry, so she adjusts knob on the side for clarity.

She sighs, laughing, "These are just ordinary blood cells."

What else were you expecting, Rebecca? A little green Martian man?

She hears movement and rustling behind her and Doctor Jensen is at her side. She tries to step away from the microscope, but Doctor Jensen places a hand on her back, stopping her.

"That was McKenzie's blood." He explains, and replaces the slide on the microscope with another. "Here is Miles Kramer's."

On the slide she sees dried blood cells, similar to the ones on McKenzie's slide. There is a noticeable difference. Most of the cells are worse for wear. There are a series of chunks and tiny holes taken out of each of the cells. She increases the magnification.

"Detective, what do you see?"

She sees little microscopic insects. No, they're machines! None of them are moving. They're no longer active. Some are burnt and others are not. However, all of them are suspended in the act of eating the blood cells. He wasn't human! Especially not with these things inside of him; it was an infestation! These insects, these microscopic machines, these nanites were eating him alive from the inside!

"Detective, what do you see?"

Rebecca steps away from the microscope, and her expression is unreadable. She looks at Doctor Jensen and he smiles back at her. "I believe I have more victims to show you."

"The victims from the mansion, are they anything like this?" She asks him.

Doctor Jensen nods.

"My god!" She runs her hands through her hair. "That means the cases are related!" She shakes her head in disbelief. "This can't be happening. I mean, what does all of this even mean?"

Doctor Jensen takes off his glasses and wipes them with a cloth.

"We're not alone Detective."

* * *

><p>"I work better on my own Lieutenant."<p>

Lieutenant Fay Harper takes a seat beside him.

"To be honest, I think we make a great team, Detective."

Detective Neville doesn't bother to look up from his computer. "And still, I feel like I'm being punished." He takes a moment to type out something on his keyboard. "Why am I stuck doing this while Kinsley gets to go out?" He asks, finally turning to face her.

"It's a Morgue. I thought you hated the smell of dead people."

"I do but," He runs his hands through his curly brown hair. "I know there's something that we will find there, and I want to be the guy to find it." He looks back at Fay. "What? That doesn't make sense, does it?"

"This isn't about personal glory, Neville." Fay leans back, crossing her arms. "I didn't think you'd be so ambitious."

"There's just something about finding that missing piece to the puzzle." He focuses back on his computer. "I can't describe the feeling."

"Speaking of missing puzzle pieces; where's ours?"

"Nicole Niito?" He asks. "I've got every cop in New York out looking for her." He adjusts his glasses. "It wouldn't make sense for her to hide if she's innocent in all of this."

"Yeah, but what about her brother?" She uncrosses her arms and crosses her legs. "I heard he survived whatever happened at the mansion."

"Unfortunately, Dominic Niito still isn't medically cleared for us to interrogate him." Neville adjusts his glasses. "He is still unconscious."

"Damn."

Fay looks at the ceiling.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that crap, Harper." He demands. "You've been zoning out on me all day."

Fay sighs.

"I just can't believe he's dead, you know?"

"What happened between you and Miles Kramer?"

"It's stupid, really." She admits. "I can sort of relate to how you feel. Miles was my missing puzzle piece. I wanted to find him and bring him in." She sighs, feeling stupid. "I feel as if that was stolen from me."

Neville laughs, wiping a tear from under his glasses. "You almost sound as corny as me sometimes, it's scary."

"Yeah, it is pretty scary, isn't it?"

"We need to get laid." Neville chuckles and looks at Fay, and she chuckles along with him. "I'm serious. We're really, really pathetic."

The door to the room opens abruptly. An officer enters and leans over, trying to catch his breath. He has a radio in his hand and he holds it out to Fay. "Lieutenant," He pauses to catch his breath. "There's been an incident."

"What incident?" She asks, eyes widening in concern. She stands and grabs the radio from him. "Out with it!"

He points at the radio, and tries to catch his breath once again. "I-It's Victor. Officer Vicktor Von Grady!"

_What the hell did he want?_

Fay Harper raises the radio to her ear. "Officer Von Grady, what's the situation?"

"Lieutenant, Officer Caden Sinclair has been in an accident!"

Fay goes pale.

_No, not Caden…_

* * *

><p>Kelly Kramer coughs as her arms dangle below her. She tries to make sense of what just happened. Everything had happened so fast. She looks around and sees glass scattered on the ceiling of the car. She is upside down and the only thing preventing her from falling is her seatbelt.<p>

She groans and attempts to wipe the warm sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. She wipes it and looks down at the back of her hand and sees it covered in blood. Her eyes widen in shock.

She is bleeding.

She begins to breathe heavily, seemingly hyperventilating. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god."

She struggles to free herself from her seatbelt and a hand touches her. She screams, but the person shushes her; it is Caden. Despite the blood on his head he is surprisingly calm. He lowers his index finger from his mouth and grabs her hand. "You're all right. It's okay. We're fine"

"I'm bleeding."

"Focus on me, Kelly."

She looks at Caden, and tears begin to form in her eyes.

"My head hurts."

Caden shakes his head.

"Listen to me, you're going to be fine."

They hear footsteps. Someone is approaching the turned over vehicle. Caden looks down and sees his gun has fallen in arms reach just outside his window. He tries to undo his seatbelt, but it's stuck. He reaches for the gun.

"Who is that, Caden?" Kelly asks, tears beginning to fall down her freckled cheeks.

Caden shushes her and reaches far enough to grab his gun. He sighs in relief and a foot steps on his hand. He screams out in pain, causing Kelly to scream along with him. He lets the gun go and someone picks it up.

Lawrence Marcellus looks inside the cop car and at Kelly Kramer. His face is expressionless as he aims the gun at Caden's skull and fires. Kelly screams as Caden's blood and brain matter hit her, staining her uniform.

Kelly goes to try her seatbelt, and it unfastens, causing her to fall face first on the ceiling below. She turns to her left, feeling dizzy and Lawrence aims the gun at her next. She screams, and Caden's corpse falls beside her, blocking her view of Lawrence as another shot fires.

_Caden's seat belt had finally come undone._

Kelly's heart beats a mile a minute. She sees the broken window to her right. She grits her teeth and crawls on her hands and knees through the broken glass. The glass scrapes her knees and cuts her hands. She bites her tongue in agony and tastes the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

As soon as she crawls out the window, Lawrence grabs her by her long auburn hair. She screams, allowing the blood in her mouth to spew forth. Her teeth are painted red, and she grits her teeth as she struggles to break free. Lawrence does his best to try and subdue her, but she rewards him instead with a kick to his groin.

"Y-You, bitch!" He shouts, releasing her and leaning on the overturned car for support.

He punches it and turns to see her take off down the street.

_I'm going to die!_

Kelly holds onto her stomach as she continues to run; it looks like more of a hobble. She feels as if she may have cracked a rib or two. She wants to look behind her, but feels that if she does that she might regret it. There was an unspoken rule in all horror films and she'd abide by it; the moment you look back, is the moment you either trip or the bad guy gets you.

_I'm going to die!_

Kelly chances a glance backward, and her right foot hits a piece of uneven sidewalk. She trips and falls on her side. Tears pour down her cheeks as she closes her eyes, awaiting her imminent demise.

_I'm going to die!_

One of Kelly's eyes open and she sees no sign of Lawrence. She rises to her feet and looks around. This is her neighborhood, but something is off. Where is everyone? Usually there's always someone either walking their dog or minding someone else's business.

_Why was no one helping her?_

Kelly winces and looks up to see the fence to her house. She makes her way over to it and climbs it, screaming in agony at the effort it takes to hoist herself over it. She reaches the top, and instead of climbing down, she falls in exhaustion and hits the cold hard grass below.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Kelly whimpers and holds her side. She glares at the fence, blaming it for her pain. She sighs shortly afterward. "I made it!" She cries. "I made it!"

She suppresses the urge to call out for her mom and dad, remembering that they wouldn't arrive home for at least another day. It reminds her that she isn't out of hot water yet, and a look of panic is back on her face.

_I'm going to die!_

She is convinced the man who had been after her man must have been responsible for her brother's death. At first she couldn't wait to get even with the person responsible, but now she isn't so sure. Meeting him face to face had only shown how much of coward she truly was. All she could think of was how to save her own hide. He killed Caden, but she had escaped. She considers herself lucky, but Caden didn't deserve that fate.

Kelly hears rustling in the bushes.

_I'm going to die!_

**WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!**

A dog tackles her and licks her relentlessly. She groans in pain, allowing its tongue to lap away at the blood, dirt and grime on her neck and chin. She pets the Dalmatian, scratching it behind its ear; it enjoys the sensation and wags its tail delightfully.

"Freckles, you scared the pom-poms out of me!" Her hands cup the dog by its ears. "C'mon boy, what kind of guard dog are you, anyways?" She asks, and he whines in protest. "I'm sure the bad men will quake in fear of being covered in doggie drool."

Kelly wipes the saliva off her with the back of her hand. She stands and winces. Her wounds are a lot worse than she expects and it prevents her from fully standing. Her knees and hands are all bloody and a steady trail of blood is making its way down her right leg.

Freckles licks the blood from her leg.

Kelly grimaces and prepares to shoo him away, but stops when she sees something green sticking out of his collar. She reaches for it and it crinkles in her hand; it has a distinct feel. It feels like money; it's a one hundred dollar bill!

_It's happening again…  
><em>  
>Never in the past could she ever expect to be so lucky in one day.<p>

Kelly takes the bill, stretching it out, and brings it close enough for Freckles to see. "I need you to tell me where you found this, boy."

Freckles looks away, seemingly lost in thought. He looks back up at her and barks, allowing his tongue to hang as he pants. He runs in a circle and takes off in the direction of his doghouse. Kelly hobbles after him, wincing with each step.

She knows if she finds whatever money Miles had stolen, all of this would stop and everything would go back to normal. He wouldn't have a reason to kill her if she gave the man back his money; it was probably all he really wanted.

She reaches the doghouse, and Freckles begins to paw at something. He barks and turns to face Kelly, wagging his tail as if waiting for a reward or the next instruction. She looks inside and sees a trail of green paper; it looks like more money.

Kelly hugs him, covering his spotted fur in patches of blood. "I don't care what anyone says, you're the smartest dog in town." She tells him, running a hand along his fur.

She kisses his nose and focuses back on the doghouse. She crawls inside, wincing at the feeling of being on her sore hands and knees once again. She sees the spot where Freckles had dug up a torn plastic garbage bag. She rips a small hole into it and reaches in side. Her eyes go wide and she pulls out a stack of money.

"I don't believe it!" She cries, thumbing through the stack of cash. "It's been here all this time!"

Kelly hears a yelp and she tries to turn to check on Freckles. Before she can turn a gun is pressed to the back of her head. The gun clicks and Kelly drops the money in her hands.

"Neither can I." Lawrence agrees, pausing to catch his breath. "You're more trouble than you're worth Kelly Kramer." His silenced pistol, gives a reassuring click, and he licks his lips. "It all ends here."

_I'm going to die…_

Tears begin to build up in Kelly's eyes as she holds up her hands. She looks down at the money and she remembers she still has one last bargaining chip. "I-I found what you're looking for." She tells him, pausing only briefly to calm her nerves. "It's the money isn't it? I found it, for you!" She reaches down slowly to pick it up, and holds it up for him to see. "See, it's all here."

Lawrence swallows as soon as he sees the money.

"S-so you no longer have to k-kill me right?" Kelly looks back at him with her eyes still full of tears. "You can have it back, it's all yours!" A tear falls from her cheek. "Please don't kill me." She begs him.

Lawrence grabs her by the hair and drags her out of the doghouse. She screams and kicks up dirt. "Shut your damn, mouth!" He shouts, throwing her to the side. "I can't even think."

Kelly lands in the grass in a crumpled heap, with her hair over her eyes. She moves her hair out of her face and looks forward. She sees Freckles, and he has seen better days. Lawrence had shot him, and he now lays motionless in front of her. Kelly grits her teeth as tears continue to fall from her eyes.

"Freckles." She sobs. "You killed Freckles!"

"Shut your trap or I'm going to kill you next!" Lawrence yells back at her, causing her to open her mouth and cry silently. "Yeah. That's it, shut up, and don't move."

He aims his gun at her as he reaches inside the doghouse, grabbing the plastic bag of money and tugging it out from underneath the dirt. He looks inside the hole it makes and sees a couple of more bags. He looks back at Kelly and his expression is unreadable.

"Grab a bag, we're taking them into the house." He gestures at her with the gun. "Now!"

* * *

><p>A cop car arrives just outside Kelly Kramer's house. Officer Nickolai Postavich opens the door to his car and adjusts his sunglasses. He removes his pistol from his holster and gets low to the ground. He reaches the door in a matter of minutes and leans his back against a wall on the porch.<p>

He runs a gloved hand through his gelled hair and tightens his grip on his pistol. He tries the door, and it is locked, so he goes around to scope out the backyard. He hops the wooden fence with ease. In the backyard he sees the corpse of a Dalmatian and an overturned doghouse; it exposes a large hole where something was recently dug up.

He frowns and aims his gun at the backdoor. He tries it; it's open. He opens it slowly and aims his gun around the kitchen. He hears someone talking on a cell phone in the living room. He crouches and follows the sound of a man's voice and it leads him to a man with his back turned. In front of the man he sees Kelly Kramer who is tied up and gagged. She looks like she's seen better days, but when she sees him her eyes light up. He raises an index finger to his lips, instructing her not to blow his cover.

"Let me speak with my daughter you bastard!" Lawrence shouts into the phone, unaware of Officer Niko's presence. "I got the money and the girl." He jiggles a canister of gasoline. "I want to hear her voice now or I'm going to set the girl and the money on fire."

Niko stands and aims his gun at Lawrence's back. "Drop the gas, and put your hands on your head." He takes a step forward. "Nice and easy. No sudden movements."

Lawrence drops the canister, and peers over his shoulder to see Officer Niko. "You don't understand Officer." He pulls the cell phone away from his ear and holds his other hand in the air. "This man is holding my daughter hostage."

**BAM!**

Officer Niko shoots Lawrence in his back and pops his own neck. "Sorry, I don't negotiate with cop killers." He places his gun in his holster and picks up Lawrence's.

He comes to her side and removes the cloth covering her mouth and Kelly blinks, not sure of what to say. "T-Thank you for saving me." She finally states, looking quite shocked. She was expecting him to be the last cop on the planet to save her. "I-I guess I was wrong about you." She admits, somewhat embarrassed.

Officer Niko smiles at her and removes his sunglasses. "You're a good kid Kelly." He tucks his sunglasses in his shirt pocket and places a hand on her cheek. He caresses her cheek and tucks strand of red hair behind her ear. "But I'm afraid you were absolutely right about me." The pistol clicks. "I'm a very bad man."

Kelly's eyes widen as he shoots her in the chest. She coughs and a rush of blood escapes her mouth. She looks on in horror as he releases her head, and it falls limp as she slowly bleeds to death. She strains to look up and sees Officer Niko pick up the phone that Lawrence had dropped prior.

"Yeah, it's me." He greets the man on the phone. "No, it wasn't too much trouble." He reaches down to pick up the canister of gasoline. "I know what we discussed, but killing them both is going to be a tad bit more expensive." He unscrews the cap on the gasoline and pours it on Kelly's head, causing her to cough. "I'll be seeing you soon, Leon."

Officer Niko hangs up and pockets the phone. He looks down at Lawrence's corpse, smirking at him as he pours some gasoline on him as well. He continues to pour a trail of gasoline throughout the first floor of the house before tossing the canister. He returns to the living room with a large garbage bag and shoves all the money inside. He looks up and sees Kelly watching his every move as she slowly slips in and out of consciousness. He lights a cigarette and tosses the bag of money over his shoulder to carry. He takes a long drag of his cigarette and exhales. "Say hello to your brother in hell for me." He calls out, turning and flicking the cigarette behind him as he heads out the door.

The cigarette falls to the ground and sparks a flame. Kelly winces, feeling an excruciating pain in her chest. She sees a trail a flame head her way. Her eyes grow heavy. As she passes out, one thought lingers on in her mind…

_I'm going to die…_


	4. Chapter 3: Some of us need convincing

**A/N: **Ronnie Rude, here and man was this update late! Now I wish I could say it was a super duper long chapter, because it's NOT, but I'm sure it'll have enough to keep you sedated until next chapter. The goal of this chapter is to introduce you guys to the team of people that will be participating in one of the most emotionally challenging missions I will have the pleasure of writing. No two characters are alike and a lot of thought has been put into each of them. All I'm going to say is the conclusion of this mission...nobody and I mean nobody will EVER see coming!

Read and review, and please **BE HONEST**.

Criticism is **ALWAYS** welcome.

I really want to know what you guys think!

**IF YOU DON'T REVIEW I WILL HAVE JOHNNY GIVE YOU THE MUSCLE RIDE!**

**Warning: **My characters tend to write themselves...and they tend to use bad language...so yeah...

**Question: **I know I killed Miles Kramer off in the prologue, but would anyone be interested in a spin-off featuring Miles Kramer and Johnny? It'd go into detail on how they became acquainted in Gantz as well go into detail on how Miles went about becoming a well-renown villain and Johnny a hero. They actually needed to already be established for this story to work, but I'd LOVE to tell their story as well! Let me know in your reviews.

**Response to Reviews**

**-**_Dane: _Haha, hell yeah Bobby's back man! As for your using your character, I will be paying homage to him! It's just that the Corny Alien Mission and Puppet Master Mission won't be for a couple of missions, so definitely keep checking back for those. And who know's...maybe he might pop up a little earlier. You'd be surprised how much plot from the old forum I've dipped my hands in and molded about._  
><em>

**-**_RockSunner: _I just hated leaving it unfinished. IMO its just such an interesting story that will probably drive me crazy if I don't finish writing it. I think a lot more should be said about the readers who are willing to put up with me going back and doing a complete rewrite, and then actually coming back to read it. That's so flattering. I personally, felt that this was the best way to go, and haven't looked back since - I wouldn't change a thing about the current story.

* * *

><p><strong>Second Chances<strong>

**"Where's the Team Spirit?"**

**Chapter 2**

_"Some of us need convincing…"_

* * *

><p>The floor is worn and outdated. It creeks and the sound of footsteps resonate throughout the hall. These footsteps belong to that of a man and woman who reach the top of the stairs. The corridor is long and doors line the walls to their left and right. At the end of the hall there is a window and the sun visibly shines through; the view of the city through it is magnificent.<p>

He gets ahead of her and she walks quickly to catch up with him. He stops abruptly and she nearly bumps into him. He turns and smiles down at her, gesturing toward the door.

"And here we are," He announces. "Room 202."

He fishes in his pocket and retrieves a set of keys on a keyring. They jingle as he searches through them. He finds the key he needs and inserts it into the lock. He turns the key and twists the knob several times, but the door does not budge. He looks to her, and her arms are crossed, showing her impatience. He laughs, despite his frustration. He gives the door another try, ramming his shoulder into it. It still doesn't budge, and he sighs.

"Is something wrong?" she asks.

"It's happening again," He smacks his teeth. "This damn door is stuck again."

"Again?" She reiterates. "Ever thought of replacing it?"

"I did." He insists. "Last month, and the month before last." He sighs once again. "I just don't get it."

The man looks lost in thought and the woman chuckles. "Maybe it's haunted!" She raises her hands and wiggles her fingers. "Oooh, spooky."

He shakes his head, laughing and dismissing the idea. "I'll have them take a look at it again tomorrow. In the meantime, we'll put you in the room down the hall." He turns and leads the way.

The woman looks at the door and notices that a nail is missing in one of the 2's in "202", causing it to hang upside down. She frowns. "This place better be worth it. " She whispers. "With rent this high, I can understand why a ghost might want to haunt it." She uses her index finger to adjust the hanging number so that it is right side up once again.

On the other side of the door a man is looking through the peep-hole, watching her every move. He bangs on the door, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Hey! Hey! Hey!" He screams, pressing himself against the door. "Can you hear me?" He bangs on the door once again. "Hey! I'm trapped in here!"

_Can she not hear him?_

The woman turns away and his eyes go wide, seeming desperate as he watches her walk away from the door. He continues to try to get her attention, trying his best to somehow be heard.

_Why can't she hear him?_

"Hey!" He screams. "No, don't go! DON'T GO!"

He gives up and turns, revealing himself as a preacher, dressed in black. He comes face to face with a young man holding a camera; he is of African-American descent. The young man adjusts his camera lens and continues to film him. Behind the camera man, there is another young man trying to regain possession of the camera.

"Why is he filming me?" The Preacher asks, adjusting his robes and applying a handkerchief to his brow. "I'd prefer it if you kids left me be."

"See? Cut it out, Conner!" He reaches for the camera once again, but Conner shoves him away.

Conner turns the camera on himself, smiling down at it. "As you can see, it's been well over an hour and nobody knows we're in this room." He makes his way over to the door, kicking it as hard as he can. "It's as if no one can hear us!"

"Stop that!" The Preacher demands. "You keep filming away as if it's going to help any of us get out of here!"

Conner lowers the camera and a hand falls on his shoulder.

"He's right, Conner - this isn't cool."

Conner shakes his head and smiles. "Tyler, relax will ya?" He brushes off the hand and turns to face Tyler. "Were all just a little confused, but other than that I'm cool, your cool – everyone's cool." He assures him. "Right?"

Tyler nods his head.

"Right."

Conner looks back at the Preacher, and his smile broadens. "Father..." He snaps his fingers, striving to recall his name.

"Father, McGuile." The Preacher answers.

"Right" Conner snaps his fingers once again and points at him. "Yeah, I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Elijah Conner." He gestures to the young man beside him, "My friend over here is Tyler Dumas." He extends his hand to Father McGuile.

Father McGuile shakes his hand, somewhat puzzled.

"Let's be honest - This is a very uncomfortable situation to be in, and the last thing I want to do is make anyone here feel uncomfortable. But think of it like this…conveniently, whatever brought us here let us keep a camera…and we NEED to document this, because when we get out of here, people NEED to know about this." He smiles. "Why not take advantage of all the cards were dealt?"

Father McGuile shakes his head. "What are you saying?" He asks. "We may never even get out of here!"

Elijah frowns. "If you don't believe, who will?" He asks him, pointing back behind him. "We're going to continue to film, and on that footage, I'd like you to be the faith that kept hope alive until the end. "

"This is insane." He responds following Elijah's hand as he continues to point toward the apartment's living room. Inside the living room he can see a police officer raise his gun at another man; it looks as if he is about to shoot at any moment. "We can't stay cooped up in here– people have guns for crying out loud!"

A young woman screams, covering her ears and cowering in the corner of the living room.

Elijah turns his camera toward the living room, and adjusts its lens. "Whoa, check it out!"

The police officer gestures to the man before him with his gun. "Don't move!" His Beretta gives a reassuring click. "I want answers!"

The man before him raises his hands in his defense. "So do I." He responds.

"Don't play me for a fool!" He shouts back. "Why have you brought me here?"

"Officer," he pauses to check his badge. "Sinclair, you have me at a disadvantage." Despite his predicament, he still smiles back at him. "As you can see clearly, I am unarmed." He looks to his left and at the brunette cowering in the corner. "I'd like to think I'm as innocent in all of this as that girl in the corner."

He looks around the room. "Where is she!" He looks to his left and at the girl cowering in the corner; she has short black hair and dark clothing. "Wait, you're not…" He looks disappointed. He focuses back on the man standing before him, not daring to lower his gun. He suddenly laughs as if just remembering something. "Innocent?" He asks with disbelief in his eyes. "You're the one behind all this!" He takes a step forward. "I never forget a face – what the hell have you done with Kelly?"

"Kelly?" He frowns and swallows, instinctively. "Wait." He gestures with his hands all the while his eyes widen in realization. "Wait!" He takes a step back, looking as if seeing a ghost. "This is impossible!"

Tyler grabs at the camera, causing it to pan away from the scene. Elijah looks at him and Tyler frowns back at him. "What the hell are you doing?" He asks him. "Ben is in there!"

"I'm waiting on 'Preach' over here." He looks over at Father McGuile. "Were just a bunch a sheep, with no one to lead us." He looks back at Tyler, shrugging. "If that cop sees some black guy run out, he's likely to start shooting up the place."

"I don't believe this!" Tyler shouts. "You coward, what about Ben?" He tries to leave, but Elijah stops him.

"And," He continues. "If he sees you run out, what's stopping him from labeling you as an accomplice?" He looks back at Father McGuile, watching as he wipes more sweat off his brow. "None of us can go in there, but you. Now I've got faith in you, but some of us need convincing. We need you to give us a reason to have faith, father – can you do that?"

Father McGuile looks back at the scene in the living room, and swallows as a bead of sweat drips down his brow. He wipes at it once again with his handkerchief. "I'll do what I can."

Elijah Conner smiles back at him and places a hand on his shoulder. "We should get back to the others." He looks over at the door that Father McGuile had been banging on. "We tried that route, now let's try another." He offers, leading him back into the living room.

Tyler follows them, gritting his teeth, and wringing his clammy hands. "If something happens to Ben, I'm shoving my dad's camera up your ass, Conner!" He warns him, and exhales sharply. "This better work!"

"Quiet." Father McGuile instructs, and Conner turns to hush Tyler.

Tyler frowns, seeing Conner raise the camera to film once again. "Would you put the stupid camera down!" He whispers, and sighs as Conner ignores him and continues to film.

Father McGuile steps into the living room and motions for Conner and Tyler to stand behind him. "You there, officer." He calls out, and raises his hands when Officer Sinclair aims his gun at him. "There are two boys standing behind me, and none of them, nor does anyone else in this room for that matter wish you any harm." He takes a step forward. "Lower your weapon, and let's take a moment to sort out our thoughts."

"F-forgive me, Father." Officer Sinclair shakes his head. "I admit even I'm a bit out of my element here." He tightens the grip on his gun. "But I'm not lowering my weapon as long as this man is in plain sight." He gestures at him with his gun. "This man tried to kill me. He is the last thing I remember before arriving in this room."

Father McGuile takes a closer look at the man being accused; he has a five o-clock shadow and a buzzed haircut. He watches him take a step back, and Father McGuile wishes he hadn't.

"I said don't move, damn it!" Officer Sinclair shouts, firing a round at the ceiling. "Next round will be through your damn skull!"

The brunette girl in the corner screams once again, and Tyler falls to his knees. "Ben!" He shouts, hating the sight of fear her stricken face. "Everything is going to be okay, Ben!"

Ben runs her hands through her hair and brings her knees to her chest. "I-I w-what should I do?"

Tyler shakes his head and looks at Elijah; he is still filming. "Would you put the damn camera down!" He shouts at the top of his lungs.

Officer Sinclair looks over at Elijah, "W-what's with the camera?" He doesn't wait for a response. "Turn off the camera."

Elijah smiles and shakes his head. "Sorry, but I can't do that." He laughs. "You see I never was much of a fan of cops, so it's going to be interesting to see a bad one in action." He laughs again. "And here I thought all cops were bad, but you'd definitely be the worst if you get caught headshoting a guy on film."Elijah zooms in on his badge. "Officer Caden Sinclair." He lowers the camera. "That even sounds like a bad cop's name."

Officer Caden Sinclair frowns.

Elijah points a finger at Caden. "Hey, I know what you're thinking!" He gestures to the other people surrounding Caden. "Were not the ones who brought you here." He points again, and Caden sees its in the direction of a large black ball. "That ball is somehow bringing us all here, one by one." He laughs. "Isn't that crazy, man?"

Caden looks at the large ball in the center of the room.

_How hadn't he noticed that being there until now?_

Caden looks back at Elijah, and then over at Tyler and Father McGuile. "Is your friend here, intoxicated?" He asks, and then he suddenly feels dizzy. "What are you doing?" He mutters, incoherently.

* * *

><p>He recalls Kelly Kramer turning to face him. "Your job is to take me home!" She points a finger at him. "I'm not going to sit here and watch you harass other kids!" She runs a hand through her auburn hair and groans in frustration. "This is so un-cool!"<p>

* * *

><p>Caden shakes his head, applying pressure to his forehead with his thumb. "Wait, d-do I know you people?" He asks, looking at Tyler, Elijah and Ben. His gaze lingers on Ben and despite her teary eyed disposition he still remembers when she waved at him. His eyes widen; it feels like déjà vu. "You're the kids I saw at the light." He frowns and looks at Elijah. "You were intoxicated."<p>

Ben dries her eyes in the corner of the room, smearing the dark mascara across her cheeks. "I think it all makes sense now." She sniffs, attempting to gain her bearings. "Why we're all here I mean."

Each of the occupants in the room turn to look at Ben; her words make sense to them. There had to be a reason why they were all here, but none were really sure why.

Tyler scratches his head, not sure of what to make of it all. "You say that, but none of us really have much in common." He sighs. "Look at us all, why would anyone trap all of us in an apartment together?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Ben asks him. "Were all related in some way shape or form." She points at Tyler and Elijah. "We all go to the same college and were in the accident caused by," She points at Caden and the man he's still aiming his gun at. "You and You." She looks at Father McGuile. "I'm still not sure where you fit in."

"I can answer that."

Ben, Tyler, Elijah, Officer Sinclair and Father McGuile look over at the man still held at gunpoint. He lowers his hands and chuckles, despite his predicament. "This all makes entirely no sense to me, but I guess I there's no harm in playing along too." He looks over at the preacher. "Father McGuile runs a Catholic church that I visit on occasion." He smiles. "Even if he did remember, I doubt he would reveal the confession of my past and present deeds." He looks up at the ceiling, remembering his confession. "Forgive me father for I have sinned, and forgive me tomorrow, for I will sin again."

Father McGuile swallows, and proceeds to wipe his brow with a handkerchief. "Lawrence Marcellus," he whispers. "You continue to play the cards God's dealt for you, but you mistakenly believe every card must be played."

"Oh come on!" Officer Caden shouts, obviously not buying any of this. "I'm supposed to believe this guy of all people goes to church?"

Elijah lowers the camera and laughs. This garners some attention to him, considering what Caden had said wasn't THAT funny. He wipes a tear from his eye and notices that everyone is staring at him. "Woooo, I'm going to need a minute after that one." He hugs the camera, and tries desperately to catch his breath. "Awe man, too funny!"

"Dude, what the hell's so funny." Tyler asks him.

Elijah snickers. "Wait until you hear this one man." He states, regaining his composure. "So I was thinking about what all of us had in common, you know…like Ben said. And then I realized there was an elephant in the room. What we really all have in common is…" He snorts, attempting to bite back the laughter. "We're all dead!"

Elijah bursts into a fit of laughter despite the entire mood of the room changing. Ben hugs her knees tighter to her chest. Father McGuile folds his handkerchief and runs it across his jaw line. Officer Sinclair lowers his pistol. Lawrence falls to the floor, punching it.

Tyler looks at them all and runs a hand through his hair. He then looks over at Elijah and punches him in the face. He watches Elijah fall backward, and does everything in his power to catch the camera, and shield it from breaking. When he was sure the camera was safe he looks back up at Tyler as if confused.

"Dude, what the hell?" Elijah glares back up at him. "You almost broke the camera."

"Enough with the camera!" Tyler holds his sore hand. "I almost broke your face!"

"Too bad you hit like a bitch, Dumb ass." Elijah uses the side of his knuckle to wipe away a bit of blood forming on his bottom lip. He sees the blood for himself and his eyes widen. "Maybe were not dead…I mean, I wouldn't feel pain or see blood if dead, right?"

Elijah looks around, but no one answers him. The only answer comes from the large black ball in the center of the room. A series lasers shoot forth and aim directly at Tyler. Tyler blinks instinctively, and runs. He trips and the lasers go straight through him. He reopens his eyes and looks down; the lasers are embedded into his chest. He goes to move. "Don't!" Ben shouts at him. "You'll only make it worse!"

"B-But I don't even feel it," He admits, debating whether to move. "What's it doing, this time?" He asks, tilting his head, the lasers, a series of tri colored beams work hard at shaping and molding the body of a human. At first the body beneath him is nothing but meaty muscle, but soon after it is covered in skin and then clothes. Green eyes meet his blue eyes and he smiles as a red-headed girl stares back up at him in confusion.

"Nice uniform." He compliments her, and she blushes. He looks down once again at her cheer-leading uniform, and squeezes a soft mound of flesh. He looks back up at her and if looks could kill he'd be dead now. "Wait, I didn't mean to…"

Tyler groans after the red-headed girl kicks him in the groan. He collapses on top of her. With tears in his eyes he looks over at Elijah, begging him to help, but Elijah is still filming away with the camera. "Please stop filming!" He shouts in a squeaky voice.

"GET OFF OF ME!" The girl hollers at the top of her lungs, scratching, clawing and slapping away at poor Tyler. Father McGuile grabs Tyler and pulls him up, but Tyler can't stand and immediately melts and doubles over in pain. Unfortunately, she wasn't done with him yet. "Hope it was worth it you son of a…"

"GAW!" Tyler groans as the cheerleader from hell kicks him once again. "D-Damn, pom-poms!" He shouts.

"I can't believe I got all of that on film." Elijah says with a look of awe, but it doesn't last. He sees Ben's look of disapproval. "What?"

"You're no help at all!" She shouts.

The red headed girl throws her pom-poms on the floor and turns to face the others in the room. "Who else wants a piece of Kelly Kramer?" She shouts, stretching her arms as if daring anyone to step forward. She looks around the room, and immediately lowers her arms. "Ehh, where the hell am I?"

A man immediately embraces her and begins to cry. She looks completely caught off guard, and eventually he releases her and smiles at her. "Thank god you're alright, Ms. Kramer." He wipes away a tear. "I was so worried."

"C-Caden?" She asks in disbelief.

He nods, and she looks past him and at Lawrence who was standing not far behind him. Her eyes widen in shock as she begins to remember a series of events that she suddenly wishes that she hadn't. She loses her balance and Caden catches her. She looks up at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm going to die, aren't I?" She asks him, and passes out soon after.

Caden turns to look at Lawrence and frowns. "She took one look at you and fainted." He draws his gun once again, almost surprised he even was foolish enough to drop his guard. "Why are you after Kelly Kramer?"

Lawrence shakes his head. "Despite my actions, I'm no longer your enemy." He runs a hand through his buzzed head. "I have no quarrel with you."

"A likely story. A convenient one too." Caden aims his gun at Lawrence. "Start talking, because I'm not buying it."


End file.
